Into the Fire
by Vivi3030
Summary: With Ganondorf defeated, Link and Zelda are exploring their developing relationship. But when Hyrule is threatened by war again, Link must return to the battlefield. There, he is joined by an unlikely friend and ally that could change everything.
1. Prologue

**Alright guys, this is the first part of my first fanfiction ever. Please review and let me know what you think. **

**Author's note: Heads up: There is a lot of language in this story. 'Nuff said about that. The chapters also get a lot longer later on, so keep reading. I promise you won't be disappointed with my storyline. If you are, well…then tell me! That's what the review box is for.**

**This is NOT your average Zelda/Link fanfic. It's something entirely different. Just wait until the later chapters.**

**Also, for those of you that don't like to read short stories, don't be put off by the fact that there's not that many chapters. This story has well over 100,000 words, so it's not short by any means.**

**Vivi**

Chapter 1

I peeked around the next corner, noticing the sleepy guard at the end of the hallway._ Too easy, _I thought, and slipped around behind him. As he turned around, I melted into a corner, underneath a table, and he passed me without a second glance.

Once I rounded the next corner, I could see my destination at the end of the hallway. Fortunately, there were no guards in this particular hallway, and making it to the door was just a matter of quietly walking there. Once there, I leaned down and pulled out my lock picking tools.

_Only a few more minutes and I'll have them._

As I slid my lock pick into the lock, I immediately noticed something was wrong. _They changed the lock, _I thought. Fantastic. This was going to take extra time now. I started my lock picking process, making sure each tumbler was in the right place. Something else was wrong, though. None of the tumblers would move. They all seemed to be stuck.

_This is ridiculous, I've been picking locks since the dawn of my existence, and now I'm hung up on a simple door, _I thought sarcastically.

After about ten more minutes of quietly jiggling the lock and triple checking all the tumblers, I was beginning to have serious doubts as to both my mental abilities and the quality of the new lock pick I was using.

_Screw this, I'll use one of the other doors, _I thought, pulling my lock pick out and hitting the whole mechanism with my fist in frustration.

Maybe it was just the goddesses having a good laugh at me, or maybe it was because it was two in the morning, but the door opened.

_Oh Zelda would have a great time if she heard about this. The Hero of Time spending twenty minutes trying to pick open an unlocked door, _I thought mordantly.

Peeking in the room and deciding that it was empty only took a few seconds. I quietly snuck in, and shut the door behind me. After shooting the lock one final disapproving look, I made my way into the room to search for my targets. They had to be in here somewhere.

After I had searched about half the room with no luck, I heard something that definitely wasn't supposed to be there. It sounded like heavy breathing. I might have been able to blame it on rats, but I knew that in this room there wasn't a chance of finding even a single one of those.

I froze, wondering if maybe a guard had been stationed in this room. But, deciding he would have confronted me by now, I realized that it must have been something else. Looking around the room, I pinpointed where the sound was coming from.

I began making my way toward the inconspicuous pile of flour sacks in the corner cautiously, not wanting to alert whoever or whatever was there to my presence, if I hadn't already. As I got closer, I realized that the sound was definitely heavy breathing.

I crawled up next to the sacks and, preparing myself, jumped around the corner.

The first thing I noticed was that there was, in fact, a startled person hiding behind the sacks.

The second thing I noticed was that that person was Princess Zelda.

But lastly, and most importantly, I noticed that she was holding the jar of butter cookies I was looking for.

**BREAK**

Zelda and I just stared at each other for a few seconds.

"W-What are you doing here?" She asked, the surprise evident in her voice.

"I think it's fairly obvious why I'm here. Why are _you_ here eating _my _butter cookies?" I asked, reaching out for the jar.

"Oh these are yours now? What makes you think that?" She retorted, obviously not about to hand them over.

"What if I ask nicely?"

"No, go away, these are mine now."

"Can I just have a few?"

"No!"

The bickering went on like this for a while until I got tired of it and started trying to wrestle the jar out of her hands.

"Damn it Link, this is ridiculous. We're both in our twenties, we shouldn't be acting like this." She said, snatching the jar out of my grip and jumping away. "Did you really sneak across the castle to eat some cookies? That seems excessive."

Deciding that she was going to win this fight, I sat back against the flour sacks. "Says you, who I found in here eating them." I replied with a grin.

"You're such a cow. It's a wonder you don't weigh twice as much as you do." She said, returning the smile and handing me a cookie. She sat down next to me and we ate in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the cookies.

"Zelda?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you in the kitchen at two in the morning eating butter cookies?" I asked, grinning at her again.

Zelda looked down at the cookie jar slightly embarrassed. "I was hungry." She said simply. "And I couldn't get to sleep," she said, putting her head down on my shoulder.

"And why's that?" I asked as I brushed her hair behind her ear.

"You haven't heard?" Zelda raised her head abruptly to look at me.

"Heard what?"

Zelda sighed and put her head back on my shoulder. "I'm sure you remember that time you ran Prince Jacob from Fajfar out at the end of your sword. We just got our first correspondence from King Duncan since they left. He's pissed, to say the least. Apparently you dishonored him, his son, and his whole country."

This caught my interest. A few months had passed since that incident, and I hadn't given it much thought. King Duncan of Fajfar had sent his son, Prince Jacob, to Hyrule as a suitor on Zelda's twenty-fourth birthday. Prince Jacob, to say the least, was an asshole. I had walked into a bar to find the prince drinking and bragging about how he would 'conquer the beast and have her begging for more.' He was also on the maturity level of a fifteen year old.

Needless to say, I hadn't been pleased with what he was saying about Zelda. When he sobered up, he found himself in the throne room with just the king and myself. It wasn't a pleasant experience for anyone, and he found himself being forcibly removed from Hyrule.

I supposed I could have been gentler about it.

Zelda didn't give me long to think about it, though. "King Duncan wants to meet my father and talk about the 'future' of our two kingdoms. He wrote in his letter that he couldn't see any kind of alliance between Hyrule and Fajfar working out after 'such a disgraceful and disgusting act.'"

"Bullshit," I said. "His son disgraced himself, his father, and his country with his behavior. How can his father even pretend that that's my fault?"

"I don't know Link." Zelda sighed. "A breakdown of the alliance with Fajfar wouldn't be good, but it honestly would have turned out this way no matter what."

"And why do you say that?" I asked quizzically.

"Well, King Duncan has a stick up his ass. That man is a curse on mankind and an embarrassment to us all. King Duncan would have thrown a temper tantrum about the fact that I didn't give his son a chance, though. He can't just admit that his son is an abomination. So don't blame yourself for this." Zelda looked troubled.

"Well what does he honestly plan on doing? Going to war with Hyrule because his son is disgusting?" I asked.

"I don't know, Link. I hope not. Fajfar has one of the most powerful armies in the surrounding kingdoms, and history shows that King Duncan is easily offended. In fact, he's offended by practically anything. It's a miracle that they haven't attacked us anyways."

We sat there in silence for a few more minutes, finishing off the rest of the cookies. Zelda put her arms around my waist and looked into my eyes. I knew that look. She was genuinely troubled about the Fajfar situation. As much as I thought King Duncan was blowing smoke, Zelda and her father would have to deal with it if anything happened.

"I don't want you to worry about it if anything happens." Zelda said suddenly. "I realize you were the one that drove him out, but you did what everyone else wanted to do."

"I don't know." I said. "I probably could have been a little…gentler about it. But oh well. They can bitch and moan about it all they want. That doesn't take away from the fact that he shamed himself and his country by what he did. And he insulted you. That doesn't sit well with me."

"Yeah," Zelda said. "I don't know what they're thinking. They should be sending an apology, not a threat. My father is heading out tomorrow morning to meet him. I guess we'll see how well negotiation works."

I wrapped my arm around Zelda's shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. She worried about everything. King Nordica of Hyrule would be much less troubled. He was confident in the strength of his military; Fajfar going to war with Hyrule would simply end up creating a lot of Fajfi widows. That fact would make for easy negotiations with King Duncan.

Zelda knew this, but she would worry anyways. I had no ability to stop it.

"Well I'm sure your father will figure it out." I said simply.

"I hope so. I don't want to go through war again. Especially over something so stupid. Ganondorf caused enough chaos for a lifetime. But you never know with the Fajfi." Zelda said.

"Don't worry about it, they're cowards." I said with a smile. "You should try to get some sleep, Zelda."

"Alright, I guess I can try, now that my stomach is full of your cookies." She said with a grin. "Let's go, and maybe you won't have to sneak around since you're with me now."

The guard outside almost had an aneurism when we walked out. The last thing he expected was the princess to come out of the kitchen he was supposed to be guarding. After he was done hyperventilating, however, we made our way to Zelda's room with no issues.

As we walked, I thought about all that had gone on in the few months that had passed since the Prince Jacob incident. Driving the prince out had been a sort of declaration in Zelda's eyes. It had firmly established how I felt about her, even if she'd known it for years.

Since then, our relationship with each other had flourished. For years, we had been 'friends.' But for the past few months, we had grown to be much closer. It could be said that we had a genuine relationship now, though it was kept quiet. The entire populace didn't need to know about us before I gained the king's approval to court her.

Nowadays, whenever we didn't have duties to attend to, we tried to spend some time together. It was moments like we had tonight in the kitchen that caused us to grow closer. We had to appreciate our time together, mainly because we had so little of it.

Upon returning to Zelda's room in the back of the castle, I walked her in, as I always did. I had always told her that it was to make sure she was safe, but I think her and I both knew that that was a lie.

Zelda came up to me and gave me a big hug and smile, like she always did, and I leaned down to give her a quick kiss.

The quick kiss quickly turned into a late-night make out session. After a few minutes, I had to stop before we went too far.

I pulled away and smiled at her, receiving a mischievous grin. "Horn dog," she said, and then laughed. "You still blush when you kiss me. It's cute."

She leaned in and kissed me again. After what seemed like way too short of a time, I decided enough was enough for this 'goodnight kiss.'

"All right, you'll have to wait for more of that," I said, turning around and making my way to the door

"Oh, now you're teasing me?" Zelda asked with a smirk. "Alright, you need your beauty sleep. Go hit the rack. I'll see you in the morning" She planted another quick kiss on my lips, then herded me out the door.

As I turned away and started towards my room, I couldn't stop smiling. It never seemed to get old with Zelda. I loved to spend time with her.

I was still smiling as I reached my room, finishing off the butter cookies that I had stashed in my coat.

This had been a much more productive night than I had hoped for.


	2. Chapter 2

**Shout out to ZeldaRubix, the first to review my story. Go read her stuff, she's a great writer that I learned a lot from.**

**I'm currently in the process of reediting these chapters. I'm seeing that I'm losing a lot of readers down to about chapter 5, so I'm trying to make everything flow better. They get MUCH longer. This is the shortest one at 918 words.**

**Review please!**

**Vivi**

**START**

Chapter 2

King Nordica set out for the negotiations early.

I knew this because he decided I was going to be his personal bodyguard and woke me up at three in the morning after ten minutes of sleep.

Despite that minor setback, I had to look at the bright side. At least he didn't catch me sucking face with his daughter. I shivered at how close he had come to doing just that.

The situation wouldn't have gone well.

As our small group headed north across Hyrule Field, I couldn't help but notice that the King was disturbed.

"Your majesty, you seem troubled." I stated the obvious. Even so, it was walking out on a limb. Despite him generally approving of me, he was still royalty.

"This isn't your fault, if that's what you're wondering." The King replied, glancing over at me. "Don't pretend you don't know what's going on with Fajfar, I know better than that." He had a knowing grin on his face.

I smiled. "Oh I've heard little baby Jacob is upset. But, never once have I felt bad about that whole fiasco, your majesty."

"Link, how many times have I told you to call me Curt?" The king asked, slightly annoyed. He was always insistent about that, but I had been dropping the ball lately.

"More times than I can count. Sorry, I just can't get used to it." I said. "So what's got you so troubled? Do you think the negotiations with Fajfar are going to hit the fan or something?"

"I don't know Link…" the king trailed off for a second. "I don't want to go through a war. I have no desire to cause the death of soldiers. But King Duncan is a different animal altogether. He is so easily offended that he can't be reasoned with. Especially when it has to do with his pigheaded son."

"If you'd like, we could forget the negotiations and use more…convincing tactics." I smiled and popped my knuckles. "I could have them begging you for forgiveness within a matter of minutes."

Curt chuckled. "Oh how I wish," he said. We rode on in silence for a few more minutes, but there was obviously something he wanted to say.

"Link, let's fall back behind the guards for a minute." The king said suddenly.

I turned around to look at him, but decided to do what he said.

After we had fallen back out of earshot, Curt turned to me with a look I had only seen him using with Zelda. It was his fatherly look. There was no other way to describe it.

"I need you to be honest with me," he said bluntly.

"Anything, Curt." I said.

"Do you have feelings for my daughter?" he asked.

I had made the mistake of taking a drink of water as he asked me. I immediately began coughing it up. _That_ wasn't something I had expected.

"Well that answers my question." He said. "I…haven't ever dealt with this before, so… I don't really know what's supposed to be said. Maybe the words I'm looking for are… you have my approval." He obviously felt awkward.

"R-Really?" I asked once my coughing fit was over. I was stunned. This was certainly unheard of, and definitely unexpected.

"Yes. Really. I couldn't ask for a better man for my daughter to be with. I realize this might be awkward for you since she's royalty and you're not, but it's what I want. And I know it's what Zelda wants. I would rather see her happy and cause discord in the court than the opposite." Curt said. "I hope you'll do right by her. No, scratch that. I _know _you'll do right by her. You're a good man. You'll do all right."

I was stunned. I didn't know how to respond. How did he even know?

"T-th-thank y-you," I managed to croak out. "H-How did you know?"

"Link, I haven't led this country for 25 years by being dense." He said, then started laughing hysterically. "And when I go to wake up my bodyguard and instead walk by my daughter's room to find him leaving it, it's fairly obvious. I'm not going to ask what went on in there. Perhaps it's better that I don't know, in case I have to strangle you."

"Oh my goddesses…" I was ashamed now. "Curt, it wasn't like that. We weren't…you know…doing…that."

"Don't worry about it, Link. Zelda's twenty four years old. She needs to get out more, and she's definitely capable of making her own decisions. I'm still going to beat the shit out of you, though. " He said, smiling. "It's my duty as a father." His grin got wider.

"Let's catch up with the guards before they break their necks from looking back here so much." The king said, nudging his horse into a lope.

After I had taken a few seconds to recover from the shock of what had just happened, I pushed Epona into a gallop to catch up, feeling like I was about to hyperventilate.

This was just insane.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: Shout out to Gabrielus Prime, the most recent reader to begin following my story. Also, Fajfar is pronounced with a silent j (Fi-far). **

**START**

Chapter 3

We arrived at Fajfar's castle on the morning of the fourth day of travel. It was a monster, to say the least. It had nine spires, and by simply looking at the outer wall, I could tell it was impenetrable. There were no grates in the bottom of the wall, which meant that they had buried pipes that carried sewage and water to and from the castle.

_Well that's certainly a luxury, _I thought. _I hope we never actually have to go to war with them. Even _if_ we fought them back to here, it would be impossible to penetrate the outer wall of the castle._

We were greeted at the gate by a contingent of guards. They all wore heavy armor, and didn't speak. They simply ushered us in and shut the massive gates behind us.

After being led into the dimly lit castle, a servant approached us.

"King Nordica, it is an honor to have you in Fajfar. Please, bring your ambassadors and come with me, your majesty." The almost comically short man said.

I began heading back to the guards, but Curt stopped me. "I want you to come with me." He said. "And don't apologize to them for any reason."

I nodded.

_Why is he having me help him with negotiations? That's what caused these problems in the first place. My being there will probably just make it worse._

I knew the king had a reason for this. I may not necessarily have known it, but it must have been good. So I followed him.

The servant led us into a room with a large round table in the center. King Duncan was already seated, and next to him was Prince Jacob.

I had forgotten how ugly Prince Jacob really was. Those Hylians who had seen him before called him pizza face for good reason. The prince had worse acne than a 14-year-old boy. His face looked like a rhino had stepped on it when he was younger.

_Damn I'm glad I didn't turn out like that, I don't know how anyone_—

"No!" Pizzaface suddenly shouted. "You will NOT bring that peasant in here to the negotiating table. I will not be subjected to this kind of treatment after what he did to me!"

"Oh boy," I said simply.

King Nordica was quick to respond. "King Duncan, I suggest that you teach your boy the proper rules of negotiation before you bring him to the negotiating table. That outburst will not be tolerated again."

King Duncan merely grunted and motioned for us to sit down.

Duncan was extremely tall. Taller than anyone in the room. Even me, and that was saying something. He was deeply tanned, with nearly black eyes. He was also extremely muscular. He was not an ugly man like his son. Sometimes I wondered how ugly Jacob's mother must have been. And how drunk King Duncan must have been when that happened.

"I think you all know why I wanted to have negotiations." Duncan said.

"If all you were requesting was an apology, you could have just said so in your letter and saved me a four day trip." King Nordica replied.

Duncan's face darkened slightly. "Your majesty, I don't care for your apologies."

"Then what do you want?" Nordica said.

_Probably something about Zelda becoming the new princess of Fajfar or some shit like that. _I thought.

"You will hand your daughter over to the royal family of Fajfar to be married to my son, Prince Jacob immediately." Duncan said. "Then, you will pay compensation for humiliating my son and threatening his life. Lastly, you will hand over the 500,000 acres of land that borders Fajfar to the south of your country, as well as the entirety of Scorpion Pass" He pulled out a scroll from under the table.

_Keep your mouth shut, Link._ I thought. I had almost laughed out loud at his list of demands. That probably would have been bad.

King Nordica didn't refrain from laughing, though. He didn't just laugh, either. It was more of a guffaw. "You're serious, aren't you?" He choked out between laughs.

"Do you think what your shit hole of a bodyguard did was an acceptable way to treat a member of the Fajfi royal family?" Duncan spat out.

"Oh, excuse me for laughing. I thought you were serious for a second." Nordica said sarcastically. "Link, would you like to inform King Duncan of his son's behavior? I have a feeling he never received the letter I sent him. Otherwise we wouldn't be here right now." He still had a grin on his face.

"Absolutely, your majesty. I walked into a bar while covering guard duty one night, and found your son drinking himself to oblivion. He was overheard saying…oh what was it again…? Oh yes, he said he would, and I quote, 'conquer the beast and have her begging for more.' I also overheard him say that he would 'make her purr like a pussy,' and, after the alcohol set in, 'I'll have her lick my ass hole.'" I said, keeping a straight face. "Among other things, of course. He also announced to everyone that he is the Prince of Fajfar and that he'd 'fuck our bitches up.' This was said in front of a large group of people."

Prince Jacob immediately stood up from the table. "How dare you make such accusations against royalty, you peasant piece of trash! I did no such thing, and I will not allow you to spread your filth and lies around Fajfar and my family. Sit down and don't say another word!" He screamed. I might have taken him seriously if his voice hadn't cracked halfway through.

"Enough." Duncan said to his son. "I will handle this."

"Father, he is lying to you. You know I wouldn't do such—"

"I said enough. Sit down, son." Duncan replied, then turned to King Nordica. "Not only do you threaten my son's life, humiliate him, and drive him out of your country, you allow peasants to make false accusations against him. Such an act is intolerable. You will sign this treaty immediately, before I decide to revoke my offer. Do not test me Nordica, I will do it." He handed the scroll he had pulled out earlier to King Nordica, who took it.

Nordica then simply handed it to me, making a flicking motion with it. I knew what that meant.

_Oh no, this isn't going to turn out well at all._ But I did what he wanted me to do. I used Din's Fire to set the scroll ablaze as I set it back down on the table.

"So what was your next option, your majesty?" King Nordica said calmly.

Both Duncan and Jacob looked shocked. _I guess he legitimately thought his demands were reasonable. _I thought.

"You leave me no other choice, Nordica. I will declare war upon Hyrule this afternoon during the council meeting." King Duncan said, once he had regained his composure. "You have shown me where your priorities lie with regards to your allies."

"You really think your council will agree to declare war on Hyrule over something so petty?" King Nordica asked. "It will lead to many unnecessary deaths. Look past your pride and find the truth in what my bodyguard has told you."

"Just give me your daughter." Prince Jacob yelled out. "That's all I want. We won't declare war if you just give me your daughter to marry."

_So that's what this is really about_, I thought. _I guess I'm not surprised._

"That is out of the question, Prince Jacob." Nordica replied.

"We will destroy your kingdom, Curt." Duncan snapped. "My armies will bring down everything in their paths without mercy, my soldiers will ravage your women and destroy villages. My council will have you executed, along with your entire family. Is that what you want? Is your daughter worth that?"

_Now they're both losing their cool._

"Of course that's not what I want. But I don't really need to worry about that, now do I? You know you can't defeat my armies, Duncan. Why even try? Why lie to yourself?" Nordica replied. "And my daughter will not be pawned and traded like silver."

"You would put your personal feelings before the well-being of your country?" Jacob asked. "Zelda should be honored to be offered a marriage to me. And you should be honored as well."

"I have already picked out a man that I believe is worthy of my daughter." King Nordica said. "He is a man she holds close to her heart, and I know he will treat her with the respect and dignity she deserves. You would do no such thing, boy."

Prince Jacob looked like he was about to piss himself.

_Oh shit, _I thought.

King Nordica stood up and continued, "Now, I have better things to do than try to have a reasonable discussion with warmongers. I will expect either a declaration of war or an apology to reach me within a week. If neither of those things gets to me, I will mobilize. Do not test me, Duncan."

I stood up and walked over to stand next to Curt. He then quickly walked out the door, not bothering to look back.

Fortunately, Duncan didn't try to have us all killed on the spot. Such an act would have broken the ages old war code, but the Fajfi didn't seem like the type to follow that code.

As we headed out the castle gates, I took one look back, but there was nothing to see. Just stone and darkness.

_If this war happens, I'll have to help bring this castle down. _I shivered at the thought of it, then turned Epona around and caught up with the group as we headed home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you guys for reading and reviewing and even favoriting. I'm having a lot of fun developing this story. **

**Author's Note: Now we're moving on to the main point of the story. One of the main points at least. I realized as I was writing this that I never really explained why Link lives in the castle, so that will be covered. **

**Vivi**

**START**

Chapter 4

Upon returning home, I had my life immediately invaded by war planning. Mobilizing the military took a lot more work than I had anticipated. I spent the early hours of my day poring over maps, developing strategies to overcome the Fajfi style of fighting, and making sure the King didn't have a mental breakdown. Assisting in advanced training overwhelmed the later parts of my days.

All I wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep; I got maybe three hours every night. Over the past three days, my body had begun to feel it. These were my duties as a knight of the kingdom, though.

At 16, I had been knighted after protecting Curt's caravan from a particularly nasty group of bandits. They had been drugged, and didn't feel pain. Then, I had just been a basic foot soldier. It was my first assignment. I had been along with a large group of older soldiers, mostly for the experience, and I had shown the royal family that I knew how to handle a blade. Most importantly, Curt had seen that I could keep my cool when it mattered most.

When the bandits ambushed us, I fell back to guard Zelda. In total, there were ten of us guarding her carriage. Out of those ten, only three survived. It was the bloodiest ambush I had ever seen. It was a miracle that both the King and Zelda escaped unharmed. After the body count, we found that a force of about fifty had attacked us. Zelda, watching from her carriage, counted twenty-three that I cut down myself.

Usually, I was pretty humble about that stuff, but I felt like sort of a badass afterwards, even if I didn't let it show.

The king, upon returning home, had requested a personal audience with me. He had knighted me on the spot and given me a residence in the castle. Life had been fantastic since. Except for days like these.

Of course, this was all theoretical. King Duncan didn't actually have the guts to attack us. If he did, he would fail. There was no question about it. Hyrule had one of the most powerful militaries in the world. This was due to their superior training. King Nordica realized that the high stress atmosphere of the training process could break a man down, and he would learn slower. Thus, he had changed the training process into what he called "high speed, low stress."

Soldiers were taught to respect their superiors because of the respect they received from them. Orders were still followed without question, but there was very little yelling and cursing. Failure was not tolerated, but no longer condemned a man. Instead, he was encouraged to find what he did wrong and learn from his mistakes. Weapons training became more practice and less getting yelled at by a drill sergeant. The soldiers were also not taught weapons drills, and instead encouraged to develop their fighting style through trial and error. That way, there was no way that an enemy could predict a Hylian soldier's next attack.

Because of this new training style, Hyrule had developed its military into a world power in a matter of years. It was still fairly small, but twice as skilled as any fighting force on the books. The previous military hadn't been much. The soldiers had been guards and a volunteer militia that wasn't properly trained. Now, though, no country gave Hyrule an issue. Except for Fajfar, whose sheer numbers could possibly overwhelm.

"I don't understand what they're thinking." Curt said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "They can't win this. We have every advantage."

The border between Hyrule and Fajfar was almost completely engulfed by mountains. There were two places where the countries connected. One was the southern border, but it would take months to move an army from Fajfar's capital, around the mountains, and north to Castle Town. There was a small passage through, about one mile across, named Scorpion Pass that was much closer to Castle Town. On the sides were immense canyons. This would be a huge advantage to the smaller but much more skilled Hylian army, as they would not have to worry about being flanked and fighting from multiple fronts. Their archers were top-notch, and could be posted on the top of the canyon, which would deal massive damage to any force on the ground.

"King Duncan has never been known to think these things through." I said. "He's always been quick to blame, and almost just as quick to go to war. If he attacks, it won't be an all-out war. It would likely be a few minor scuffles that cause him to pull his soldiers back."

"I just hope it doesn't go to war at all. I don't want to have to bury my soldiers because of this." Curt said, concern lining his face. Even if our military were more powerful, there would still be deaths.

"Don't worry Curt, he's not going to send a declaration of war. He only has until tomorrow night before the deadline you gave him is up anyways. If he hasn't sent it yet, it's probably not coming." I said, trying to ease his tension.

One of the generals in the room, Jared, spoke up then. "Your majesty, you don't think they'd try to attack without sending a declaration of war first, do you? They haven't exactly been known to follow rules of chivalry."

"That's something that crossed my mind. I don't know." Curt responded. "I wouldn't put it past Duncan."

Jared looked back down at the map. He was known for being a master strategist. He was the best Hyrule had to offer. He'd been a knight since he was 23, and had served three kings over his 50-year tenure. Hyrule had never so much as lost a battle under his watch. Even with its limited military.

Yet another thing that made Link wonder why Duncan was so bold.

"No, there's something else…"I trailed off. "Duncan may be emotional, but he's not stupid."

"Well, what else could they do? They can't send their army over the mountains. It would take too long to go around them. The only timely way into Hyrule from Fajfar is through Scorpion Pass. Duncan knows this is a suicide mission for his men. They don't even use archers. It would be an extremely lopsided fight. Most of their ground force wouldn't even reach ours once our bowmen had their way with them." Jared said.

"We need to approach this differently." This time it was Timothy speaking. He was the young sorcerer that Duncan had employed a few years before. He was one of the most talented sorcerers I had ever laid my eyes on. More so than Zelda. He was a blessing from the goddesses. Most importantly, he could think outside the box.

"What do you think, then?" Curt asked him.

"I'm thinking a few things. But first, I have to ask, when was this incident with his son? If I remember correctly, it was a few months ago. But Duncan didn't make his move until about a week ago? That doesn't make sense. If he were going to go to war with us over this, he would have done so shortly after it happened." Timothy said.

"It was a few months ago, and you're right." I said. I hadn't thought about that. It was such old news that we had finally stopped laughing about it at the dinner table.

"Well, what if he sent soldiers to the southern border a few months ago? They could be here any day, and wouldn't have to go through a Scorpion Pass death trap" Timothy said.

"That's a possibility." The king said. "We would be focusing our attention on Scorpion Pass while a larger force attacks us from the south." He scratched his chin.

"I doubt this is the case, but he might have found a way into the Unknown and be searching for the Back Door." Timothy added.

_The Unknown is no place for an army of Fajfar._ I thought.

"I doubt that." I said. "It's well known that there's only one way into the Unknown."

"It's unheard of." Jared said. "The Unknown is no place for an army. His men wouldn't be able to find water. The sun would scorch them to death. The wind itself is strong enough to kill a man with a blade of grass."

"As I said, I doubt that's the case. But you never truly know until the war is over." Timothy said.

I shivered at the thought of the Unknown. It was a barren land filled with complete nothingness. It was said that as far as the eye could see, there were dead trees and sand. The temperature was constantly above 110 degrees. There was no water, anywhere. A wind was constantly blowing at tornado speeds. It was the land of the dead. The only way into it was a small tunnel underneath Hyrule Castle called the Back Door, simply for lack of a better phrase. Not a single person had ever gone in and come back. Enormous mountains to the north blocked the Unknown. The mountains had no passes or valleys. It seemed as if the Goddesses themselves didn't want anyone going north.

Only one person had ever gone through The Door and come back alive. Even so, he had only had enough energy to tell them about the barren, dead wasteland that he had seen, before he fell unconscious and died.

A knock at the door shook us from our silence. "A message for your majesty." Link heard the servant on the other side say.

"Come in." Curt said.

The servant came in bearing a large rolled parchment with the seal of the royal family of Fajfar on it. Curt cursed.

"This isn't…son of a bitch. Yes it is." He said, opening the roll.

I sidled over to him, peeking over his shoulder. On the parchment, in large print, was what we expected.

_King Nordica of Hyrule_

_Under the authority given to me by the gods, I hereby declare war on the country of Hyrule and her Royal Family. _

Underneath the simple declaration, I saw 15 signatures. All 14 members of King Duncan's council, and then the king himself.

"They actually did it…"I said, stunned.

Everyone in the room was silent. We didn't know what to think.

A frantic knocking at the door had us almost jumping out of our skins. "What is it?" Curt asked.

"Sir, there's a scout here from the village of Eden." The servant called.

"Send him in." The king said.

The scout came in the door, still panting. It was obvious he'd been sprinting for a while.

"What's wrong, soldier?" Curt asked worriedly, moving to support the man as he stumbled, about to collapse from exhaustion.

"Your majesty… Fajfi soldiers…they attacked Eden…" The scout coughed out, trying to catch his breath.

"Alex," Curt looked over at one of the younger knights in the room. "Go prepare a battalion to march to Eden immediately."

"No…" The scout croaked out. "You'll need more than…that, your majesty…It was almost an entire army…At least twenty…thousand…"

The king paled immediately, and looked at Timothy. "Eden is the closest town to the southern border. It looks as if you were correct. In fact, they couldn't have gotten the timing any better."

"That's correct, your majesty. I would suggest that you send a larger fighting force than you think you need. Maybe send half of what's available to Scorpion Pass, and the rest to Eden?" Jared said. Many others in the room nodded in agreement. It seemed like the logical decision.

"Send the first division." The King said to the young knight. Alex ran out the door to convey the message.

The king called out to the servant who had brought the scout in. "Please, get this man some food, water, and a comfortable bed to sleep in. He's done us a great service today." Then, looking at the scout, who had finally caught his breath and was standing up, "This will not be forgotten. You're a good man, and an even better soldier. What's your name?"

"Jonathon Sykes, your majesty." He had finally been able to catch his breath, but still looked a little worse for the wear. He stumbled out of the room, still looking like he was about to pass out. Once the door shut, everyone glanced around, not sure what to say.

"Link," Curt said. "You're promoted to Lieutenant. I'm putting you in charge of the forces headed to Scorpion Pass. You'll do well, and they respect you despite your age. Go make sure they're ready to march there immediately. Take as many archers as you need. They won't do as much good on the open field as they will in that mountain range with you."

"Understood. I won't fail you." My calm demeanor didn't give away how shocked I was. It was unheard of for someone so young to be promoted to an officer's rank. But I wasn't going to let age be a deciding factor in my success. I had already gained an idea of how I would defend the pass using fewer men than the king thought I needed. In fact, I could probably manage with only one brigade, and send the other one with him to help.

There was just one thing I needed.

"Your majesty, could I bring General Jared with me? I would appreciate his experience." I asked quickly.

"Yes," Curt said, after a moment's hesitation. "Please be careful, both of you. I don't want to have to bury either of you."

Jared and I bowed and took our leave. Only then did the full weight of the situation hit me.

Hyrule was at war.

**In my story, The Hylian Military is composed of two divisions, which each contain two brigades. Just for those of you who don't know all the military terms, a brigade is a larger force of about 4000-5000 men (At least in America. They get much larger in other countries). **

**So essentially King Nordica is sending out around 9000 men to Eden.**

**REVIEW and I'll give you a cyber fist-bump or something.**


	5. Chapter 5

**The end of this is EXTREMELY raunchy. You've been warned.**

**Vivi**

**START**

Chapter 5

_What have I gotten myself into? _I thought.

Zelda was upset, to say the least. I guessed that could have been expected, seeing as how her father and the rest of his kingdom were mobilizing for war.

I really enjoyed being the source of her comfort, though. Even if she was a crying mess and the kingdom was at war. That might have been my last time with her; I didn't know how things would turn out.

I snapped back to reality, finding Zelda still in my arms, crying into my shoulder. She'd quieted down a little by now, fortunately. I didn't know how to handle that kind of situation. Growing up in the forest with a bunch of kids didn't help me with royalty and women. Especially a mix of the two.

"I can't believe that asshole actually did it. And that stupid, immature…" A string of curses followed. I could only assume she meant Prince Jacob.

I figured I should say something. "Don't worry yourself about it too much, Zelda. We've got the stronger army. They'll probably take one look at us and hightail it back the other direction."

"No, they won't." She said. "And if anything happens to my father, I don't know what I'll do. I'm not ready to rule this country. And if you die…" She looked up at me, but couldn't find the right words.

I smiled at Zelda. "I doubt you have to worry about me. They've already attacked from the south. They were hoping to catch us before we could mobilize, but they underestimated how quickly we could do just that. And besides, I'm going to be guarding the pass. They know it would be suicide to go through there, so they probably won't. If you're worried about your father, remember that he's not actually going to be in the fighting. The command tent is in the back."

"I know, but it still worries me. What if our army is overrun? He'd have nothing to protect him." Zelda said.

"Well, he'd be captured and I'd go beat the crap out of people until I get him back. So don't worry. It'll be fine. They would never kill a king. That's number one on the things not to do in war list."

"I guess you know better than I do, but that won't stop me from worrying."

I decided a change of subject would be best. "I was thinking about something."

"Well that's dangerous." Zelda said, giving me a small smile. I couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"Well, I've got a day or two before my men will be ready to move. What would you say to me taking you out tonight? We can try to have some fun and relax before I go. Maybe try to forget about all this for a night?" I said, a little nervously. I couldn't tell if it was showing or not. This was the first time I had actually asked her on a date.

To my surprise, Zelda's small smile turned into a grin. "Hmmm, so the Hero of Time is asking me on a date? I think I'll have to accept. And what exactly will we be doing tonight?"

_SHIT, I didn't think about that part!_

"It's a surprise," I replied, giving her a convincing smile. "You'll like it."

_Probably should have thought of something before now if you were planning on asking a princess out on a date, dumbass. _I said to myself. I had a few hours, though. Hopefully that was enough time.

"Well, just don't make it something big and showy. I want to spend this time with you tonight, not have to worry about public appearance." She said.

"Don't worry, you know I'm not one for the spotlight." I said with a chuckle. We both knew that all too well. I hardly ever even talked in public.

Zelda smiled wider, "Alright, I'm holding you to that. Nothing big. Just you and me. You'd better go tell my dad, though. Otherwise he might have a panic attack. And I'm sure as hell not gonna tell him I'm going on a date. He'll have you locked in the dungeons if I have to tell him. He might let you go with a few lashes if you ask." We both laughed.

"You don't really have to worry about that." I said. "Already taken care of."

"Oh, really?" She said, the surprise evident.

"Yes, really." I hugged her a little closer. "Now, I'm going to go get ready so I don't look or smell like crap tonight."

"Alright, I'll see you tonight." Zelda said, then reached up and stole a quick kiss.

_Crap, I'm blushing,_ I thought. I could feel the warmth, and it wasn't dark to cover it up this time. I quickly made my way out the door, hoping she hadn't noticed.

Now all I had to do was think of a good date idea. Easier said than done.

**BREAK**

After much thought, I had finally decided on a date plan. I wanted to make this special. Worst-case scenario, this could be the last time I ever spent with Zelda. I tried not to think about that possibility too much, but it crossed my mind at some point. It made me work even harder to make this date a success.

I went to pick Zelda up around dusk, but not before going to Curt and making sure to 'ask permission,' per say.

I quietly knocked on his study door. "Come in," came his voice from the other side.

_He's gonna kill me for asking him to let me do this while he's trying to plan a defense and mobilize the army. _I thought.

I peeked my head around the corner. "Hey Curt," I said.

Curt looked a little worse for the wear, what with not getting much sleep. I guessed I probably did, too. "What's going on, Link?" He still sounded upbeat, even though he was tired, and probably felt like dying.

"I was just wondering if I could borrow Zelda for a few hours. I was hoping to spend some time with her before I have to head out to the pass." I said, surprised at how much better it sounded than I thought it would.

Curt glanced up at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Even through war planning and sleep deprivation, he still had a sense of humor. "And what exactly are you going to be doing with my daughter during those few hours?" He asked.

"I'm taking her on a date." I said.

"Well I already said you have my permission to do that, Link. Why are you asking?"

"Well… I didn't want her to just disappear, that would be…bad." I was caught off guard by his question. I hadn't expected to be allowed to just take her away whenever I wanted.

"Hmm, good point. Well, I guess so. Enjoy your time. Please be safe." Curt said, smiling.

"Thank you, Curt. I will be." I started to head out the door.

"And, Link, one thing."

"Yes?"

"If you have sex with my daughter, I will kill you. Over an extended period of time. I might even break each of your fingers and toes one by one." He smiled widely. "You two enjoy yourselves."

I shivered and hurried out the door.

_Oh goddesses, what a way to start the night._

**BREAK**

"Can I please take this off, now?" Zelda asked.

"Depends on what you're talking about taking off." I said back, fighting back a chuckle.

"Oh buddy, you're lucky you blindfolded me or I'd slap you right now." She said. I could see her smile on Epona's back, though. "Where are you taking me?"

"You said you wanted something without a bunch of people around. Hyrule has a lot of people, so we have to go out a little ways before there's nobody around. I'm just doing what you wanted." I said.

"And this requires me to be blindfolded? I can't just enjoy the night ride with you?"

"Yes. I might gag you in a second, too." I took her hand. "Alright, we're there, I'm gonna help you off."

"Thank the goddesses."

I pulled Zelda off of Epona, setting her down lightly on the ground, then looked around to check out the area. I had taken her to Lake Hylia in an attempt to get away from the activity and attention Castle Town offered. I was silently praying that she would at least appreciate the effort, and maybe even enjoy herself. I wasn't exactly a ladies' man. I didn't know how to do this kind of stuff.

After leading her up to the edge of the lake, I reached around the back of Zelda's head and untied the blindfold. To my surprise, she gasped.

"Holy crap, Link! I _LOVE _Lake Hylia!" I immediately felt a sense of relief wash over me. This was perfect, if that was the case. I hadn't expected her to be this happy.

"Really? I didn't think you'd like it this much." I said, still a little nervous. I didn't know what to do from here. My idea had been a picnic at the lake, but it never occurred to me that picnics are for the daytime.

"No, this is perfect." Zelda's smile was nearly ear-to-ear by now. "I hate being around people sometimes. I know that sounds weird for a princess, but it's just the truth. Coming here used to be my favorite thing to do to get away from people, but I haven't had a chance in a long time. A year, at least. I need this."

Well, I brought some food, if you're hungry. Otherwise, I guess we could take a walk. It's a big lake, there's plenty of places to walk." I said. I couldn't imagine why I was still nervous. I was actually sweating.

Zelda turned around and wrapped her arms around me. She looked up into my eyes. "Link, relax. I'm a cheap date. Don't worry about making this perfect. It already is." She reached up and gave me a long kiss. "Let's go find a place to sit and eat."

_Damn, that was easy. I hope the rest of the night stays this way._ I thought as I made my way over to where Epona was lazily grazing. Pulling the food out of the saddlebags, I made my way back over to where Zelda was sitting and sat down next to her.

"I certainly hope Fajfar's army doesn't make it this far. I don't want to have to rule Hyrule without being able to come here for a break," Zelda said.

"Let's not think about Fajfar right now. That'd put a damper on things." I said.

"Yeah, I guess so." Zelda reached into the bag and pulled out a sandwich I had made. "Isn't this my job to make these?" She asked with a laugh.

I laughed with her. "Not tonight." I reached out and pulled her over next to me-an action she didn't resist. Leaning her head on my shoulder, she sighed.

"I know I've said it already, but I really needed this. Just to get away from all the chaos around the castle right now. And to spend some time with you. It seems like we never really get to see each other." She said quietly.

"Maybe that's what makes moments like this so special, then." I said. Zelda snuggled closer to me. We sat in companionable silence for a little while, and eventually both leaned back and lay in the grass, watching the constellations and shooting stars in the sky. Zelda and I consistently found ways to move closer to each other, even when we thought there wasn't a way.

Slowly, we both dozed off, wrapped in each other's arms, quietly enjoying our time together.

**BREAK**

Epona snorted loudly, startling me awake. I didn't move, though. I had trained myself to wake without moving or even opening my eyes. Epona had been trained to alert me to threats exactly like she just did. Chances were that it would be a tektite wandering too close, but I could never be too sure.

It was still dark outside. I slowly peeked over to where Zelda still lay next to me, still sleeping quietly. After I had checked to make sure she was all right and not in imminent danger, I slowly, naturally rolled over, as if I were tossing and turning in my sleep, and peeked out the other direction, to see that Epona had moved closer to me, and had her ears pricked toward the entrance to Lake Hylia. She had brought my sword to me and pointed to the direction of what was bothering her. I might have been proud of her if I hadn't been so curious as to what she was so bent out of shape about.

Slowly, I checked the parts of the lake and the surrounding land I could see. Seeing nothing, I turned my attention to the entrance to the lake. When I finally got my head turned the right direction, I almost wished I hadn't looked.

Standing about a hundred feet away, thinking he was concealed by the shadows of the canyon, was one of the Mageri. Mageri were the brown-skinned assassins raised in the deserts of Fajfar. They were, undoubtedly, some of the most dangerous assassins to ever exist. They had sworn their allegiance to the king of Fajfar some 800 years previous, and had served the country loyally ever since. They were extremely long-lived. The average lifespan of the Mageri was around 400 years old, unless their lives were cut short by battle.

The average person may not have noticed the man standing there stock-still. Luckily, my triforce piece seemed to give me the ability to see things that could kill me imminently, like this man standing here. Not to mention my years of dungeon delving experience. I was used to fighting assassins in the dark, but never had I faced a Mageri.

_Maybe he isn't going to try to kill me._ I thought. _Surely he knows he couldn't do it. I have a piece of the triforce. He could run me through three or four times with that sword of his and I'd hardly feel it. Much less die from it._

Still not wanting to take chances, I sat and waited. I could play the waiting game all night if I wanted to. Glancing over at Zelda, I figured she wasn't going to wake up anytime soon. She looked like she was in deep enough sleep to make it through a thunderstorm.

So it was just this man and I. And royalty sleeping next to me with nothing to guard her but her own magic should this man get past me.

I sat and waited for what seemed like hours. To all outside eyes, including the Mageri, I would appear to be asleep. However, I was keeping a watchful eye not just on the Mageri, but on the land around me as well. Mageri were known to work alone during assassination attempts, but you could never be too sure.

Finally, when the first hints of the sun were showing over the eastern horizon, the man made his move. He started walking swiftly, yet unbelievably quietly, towards me. He drew what looked like a throwing knife from his belt, while simultaneously drawing his sword in his other hand. I, on the other hand, lay completely still, not moving a muscle.

When the man was about twenty feet away, he raised his right hand with the throwing knife in it. Stepping forward, he rocketed the knife out of his hand, straight towards me.

I sprung into action. As the knife was about halfway to me, I jumped to my feet faster than the Mageri could have possibly imagined. Grabbing the knife out of midair by the tip, I spun it around myself and back at the man, then reached around to draw my sword from Epona's saddle.

The man was obviously caught off guard by my move. Not many people he had ever faced had the dexterity to grab a throwing knife out of midair. This was the probably the only person who had ever thrown it back at him. Because he had stepped into the throw, he hadn't been able to get his sword into his right hand quick enough, and raised it for a clumsy left-handed block. He might as well have not even tried.

The knife glanced off of his sword, then reversed its spinning between his ribs and straight into his liver. He grunted in pain and dropped to his knee, staring down at the knife sticking out of his right side. The wound was gushing blood, despite having the knife in it still.

Zelda was wide-awake by now. She didn't panic. She was too experienced to do that. She merely began preparing her magic as she backed up behind me, trusting me to hold the man off while she was defenseless.

To my surprise, the Mageri grunted and stood back up, switching the sword over to his good hand. With an ear-splitting roar, he charged at me.

_What a little bitch. Won't just die from normal wounds. _I thought.

I stood my ground, slapping Epona's rear to signal for her to run. The man closed the distance between us quickly, the knife still poking out of his body. He dropped a massive overhead swing at my face, only for the sword to plant firmly in the ground when I suddenly wasn't there anymore.

_So much for the most deadly assassins in the world, this guy just threw an overhead swing at me. That's pathetic. Although… He _does _have a knife sticking out of his chest. So I guess that sort of puts a hamper on critical thinking._

Currently, I was behind the man. Only now did I notice how tall he was. I was 6'5", and he put me to shame. He was well into the seven-foot range, and coated in muscle. Muscle, however, couldn't stop the edge of my sword from cutting down into his back. The man roared in pain, dropping to his knee again. Pulling out my knife, I pressed it to his throat.

I pulled back on the hilt and slipped it to the left, the edge easily slicing through his neck. The spray of blood was enormous, just like the man it came from. His body dropped to the ground a few seconds later, limp and lifeless.

I looked over at Zelda. Unfortunately, she had been caught directly in the middle of the spray of blood. I could have yelled "BOOM, HEAD SHOT!" but I felt that it might be the wrong time.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little shocked." We had both seen enough death in our lifetimes to not be overly disturbed by this. "What happened? I recognize him as a Mageri, but why would he be at Lake Hylia? To kill me?"

"Actually, no. He was trying to kill me. That knife in his chest was thrown directly at me, not you. I saw him hours ago, but he waited until now to attack. I figured he would be coming after you, not me. Although I guess he could have been trying to kill me and capture you." I said. "I can't imagine why, though. You're quite a bit more dangerous than I am with that magic of yours. Sorry about the blood, though…"

"It's fine, it's not like you can aim when you cut someone's throat. I'm gonna go hop in the lake before it dries on my clothes, though. I'll just let myself dry on the way back." Zelda said. "And maybe you should, too. That knife wound sprayed all over you. We probably don't need to go back to the castle covered in dried blood."

"Yeah, let's get out of here quickly. Wouldn't want more of these guys showing up." I said, looking around nervously. There weren't any more, though. And I knew more wouldn't be coming. It was part of their culture. If a member failed his mission, his body was left to rot.

"I hope every date you bring me on doesn't get this exciting." Zelda chuckled. "That'll get old quick. People trying to kill us and all."

We both walked down towards the lake, still a little stunned by the sudden attempt on my life. Suddenly, Zelda stopped, and got a mischievous grin on her face.

"Enjoy this, you may not see it again for awhile." She said, and began stripping off her clothing.

"You scare me to death, you know that?" I asked, fighting the urge to look. A hard-on was the last thing I needed right now. "One second, I'm slitting an assassin's throat in your face, then the next second you're stripping your clothes off in front of me on our first date." I turned around to give her some privacy.

"And what a date it was," she whispered in my ear. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I hadn't realized she could move so quietly.

"You're a tease." I said.

"I guess so." She said, reaching her arms around my stomach and hugging me from behind. "And maybe I'm not teasing you. Maybe all you need to do is turn around." She whispered in my ear again.

She was definitely naked.

"Oh goddesses," I said. "That's just mean."

Zelda's arms pulled away from my waist, and a few seconds later I heard a splash. "Come on, Link!" She yelled over to me. "Early morning assassinations and skinny dipping make the best first date ever!" She laughed loudly.

_I should be concerned about this. Shouldn't I be consoling her about the fact that I just sprayed someone's blood all over the ground around her…? _Then I paused, the realization hitting me. _She's serious about the skinny-dipping._

"Well, you asked for it!" I yelled over my shoulder, dropping my pants and pulling my tunic off, then throwing them into the water so the blood would wash off. I turned around and ran as fast as I could towards the lake, cannonballing in and diving down to the bottom of the clear water.

_Wait a second, clear water? Well, I hope she likes a good view._

I broke the surface, finding Zelda right in front of me.

_Tits, _I tried not to stare. _Now THAT'S fantastic. _

"Well, it's going to take some time for those clothes to soak." She said. She seemed to be much more at ease with this than I was. "So let's just relax for awhile."

"Oh sure, says the girl. Relax. Sort of hard to do that when I've got those staring me in the face." I said, gesturing at her chest.

"Oh, really now? Someone's nervous." Zelda said, moving closer. "It's sort of cute." She wrapped her arms around my neck, pushing me back into the shallower water and sitting down on my lap.

She laughed suddenly. "Looks like someone else wants to say hello down there." I instantly turned bright red.

_How far is this gonna go?_ I was pretty much ok with whatever she was comfortable doing at this point, but I didn't know how far was acceptable right now.

"Relax, it's fine. You're too embarrassed. I'm the one sitting on your lap completely naked. I would be disappointed if that…" She gestured down. "…didn't happen." She leaned in and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her closer.

"How far is this going to go, Zelda?" I asked. I didn't want to accidentally push her too far and regret it later.

"As far as you want it. We've been together for a while. I know you like the back of my hand, and you know me just about the same. I'm comfortable with anything." Zelda said seriously.

"Alright, well here's to first times then." I said, pulling her closer to me. She pressed up against me, pushing me onto my back in the shallow water we were sitting in. Her weight pressed down on top of me.

Neither of us was a virgin. We'd both had our past relationships, stories, and experiences. I shouldn't have been so nervous, but at least I knew I wouldn't be coming early.

Zelda slowly worked her head down my chest and onto my stomach, working lower each second. When she reached my dick, I moaned in pleasure. I had never met a girl who could get me going so easily until now.

After a few more minutes of foreplay, I'd had enough of the messing around. I was begging for more, and I wasn't about to be stopped.

"My turn," I said, rolling over on top of her as I pulled her up. Working down her body, I spent a few minutes working her with my tongue, making her moan in ecstasy.

"Oh goddesses, Link, I'm coming!" She yelled.

_Already? Oh wow, I can't wait till the real stuff starts._

She moaned intensely for a minute or so, and didn't settle down much after she finished her orgasm.

"Holy shit Link, I want more. Right now!" She moaned softly, then jumped up and forced me onto my back again. "But I'm on top." She whispered into my ear, softly biting it.

"No arguments here." I said. Zelda sat up, then leaned back. I felt the pressure, and sighed contentedly. This felt amazing.

Time seemed to fly by. We both kept going until I reached my limit, as Zelda reached hers for a third time. I tensed, just as I felt her do the same. She groaned in my ear, and we started moving faster and faster as we came together.

Finally, I had to pull out, much to my own disappointment that I hadn't lasted even longer. Zelda rolled off me and into the shallow water next to me. She moaned, still feeling the aftereffects. "Holy crap you last a long time." She said, once she caught her breath.

"What can I say? I'm sort of a boss." I said, smiling. We lay there for a few more minutes.

"We should probably get going soon," Zelda said. "I don't want my father sending out a search party."

"All right, but you should know one thing." I said, rolling over to look at her.

"And what's that?" She asked, curiously.

"I'm not done yet." I said, grinning.

"Oh, really? Well then, impress me." Zelda said, grinning.

It turned out to be a damn fun day.


	6. Chapter 6

**Nothing to say this time around. Enjoy.**

**Vivi**

**START**

Chapter 6

Sometime around noon, Zelda and I decided to head back. I knew Curt would probably be pissed that we had taken so long to come home, but it would be entirely worth it.

There wasn't much to be said on the way back. We just simply enjoyed the open space, fresh air, and each other's company as much as we could. I kept finding myself reminded that I would have to march out either tonight or tomorrow morning. I was leaning toward tomorrow morning. I wanted to give my soldiers another night with their families. The morale boost would be worth the slightly faster march to the pass.

Zelda leaned back into me, resting her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her waist and let go of the reigns. Epona knew how to get back to Castle Town without constant maintenance, so I didn't need to worry about that. The two of us sat there, wrapped around each other for a few minutes, still not saying a word.

At first, like always, Epona was the only one who noticed something was amiss. She snorted, pricking up her ears, but I couldn't tell what was wrong. Maybe even she didn't know exactly what it was.

To all outside eyes, I nonchalantly stretched in my saddle and glanced around. However, I was taking in every feature of Hyrule Field, trying to find what was bothering my horse. She didn't try to warn me for no reason.

Epona snorted again, this time louder, but still there was nothing.

"Link, what's going on with her?" Zelda asked, scanning the horizon. She could tell something was off, too.

"I don't know." I replied. "There's not an enemy in sight. It must be something we can't sense. She can hear or smell something that we can't."

We both sat there silently, but not in the relaxed silence of a few minutes before. We were both tensed, ready for anything. Epona seemed to know that we understood her warning, and fell silent for a while longer, letting us listen.

I smelled something before I heard anything. With the breeze came the smell of a campfire. Not just any campfire, though. There was something else that I couldn't quite pick up. It was a smell I didn't quite register, one that I could hardly tell was there.

"Do you smell that?" I asked Zelda. "Whenever the breeze picks up, inhale deeply. Tell me what that smells like to you."

She sniffed that air slowly, waiting for the breeze to pick up. When it did, the smell became even more apparent. "It smells like something is burning. Maybe there's a camp nearby."

"We're too close to Castle Town for that to be a camp…" I trailed off, squinting into the horizon towards Castle Town. Off in the distance, I recognized the hills that blocked our view of Hyrule Castle and Castle Town, perhaps an hour's ride away.

Over the edges of the farthest hills, I saw a faint red and orange glow.

"It can't be." I gasped, filling with dread.

"Is that…? Oh goddesses, there's no way. Hurry, we need to get back there!" Zelda sounded like she was about to pass out.

I kicked Epona into a gallop, letting her run as fast as she could. Even she understood the urgency, and didn't slow down until we came to the final hills, over which I had seen the glow. Now that we were coming over the tops of them, I could see smoke rising from beyond them.

As we rode over the top of the biggest hill, I saw a sight that I would never forget.

Castle Town was in flames. Hyrule Castle looked to be almost completely destroyed. The entire front half had been blown off, and all the rubble was strewn over the town. The castle had exploded from the inside. The explosion had been so hot that much of the stone had turned molten.

Most of all, I noticed that nothing was alive. I could see burning bodies in the streets. I could see women and children, guards, soldiers, and merchants. Nothing had been spared from the explosion.

Once again, Zelda and I were blanketed by silence; this one oppressive and unrelenting. There was nothing to be said at this point, as we rode slowly and cautiously towards what was left of the once bustling city, our mouths hung open in disbelief.

As we reached the ruined gates, I looked down the walls. They appeared to not have been breached, and were mostly intact, minus some spots where pieces of the castle had landed on them.

_What could have done this without even breaching the walls? How is this possible? I've never heard of magic like this._

I dismounted Epona, helping Zelda off as well, and walked towards the ruined gate. It looked exactly like it had when I had come here at 17 years old, wielding the Master Sword, and working towards Ganondorf's demise. It was like a scene from a nightmare.

But this was too real to be a nightmare. The smell I couldn't place earlier had been the stench of dead, burning bodies. The images here were too real, too solid, to be figments of my imagination. Never before had I seen such horrific bloodshed of so many innocent people.

Zelda and I quietly walked into the town, my sword drawn and her magic ready. I doubted it would be necessary, though. Nothing was alive here. Or so it seemed.

As we walked around the fountain in the main square, a figure came stumbling down the path from the castle, working its way around the rubble. I pulled out my bow and trained an arrow on it, just to be safe.

"Should I take it out?" Zelda asked. She had seen it, too.

"No, not yet. If it's an enemy, I'll put an arrow in his leg and have him answer some questions before I bleed him out on the street." I said, fully intending to follow through with the threat.

As the figure came closer, however, I lowered my bow. It was one of the royal guard. They were some of the best soldiers in Hyrule. It was no surprise to me that one of them would have survived whatever happened here.

"Lieutenant!" The man called from afar. "Don't shoot, I'm a friend!"

"I see that." I called back. "Come closer."

The man came closer, stopping a few feet away to salute. I recognized him. He was Sergeant First Class Jack Brandon, one of the most respected members of the royal guard. Also one of the most skilled. I had heard stories of what he could do with a sword.

"Don't worry about saluting me Jack. What happened here? This can't be the work of Duncan or his army. There's no way." I said.

"I couldn't tell you exactly what happened. A wizard just simply appeared in the throne room, laughed hysterically, and then blew the place to hell." Jack said.

"How did you survive? I haven't seen another living soul yet. And you speak as if you were right next to the blast."

"That's what I'm down here for. The wizard that appeared in the throne room put a bubble around the king's throne that protected him and us two guards. He immobilized the three of us, threw the other guard into a wall and broke his neck, and then threw me back. I landed on...bodies. My armor protected me, but I guess I passed out. He still has the king up there, I was hoping to find help down here." Jack was obviously panicked.

"Well, you found it. Let's get up there." I said, taking off running.

**BREAK**

_This would have been so much simpler. You could have handed your daughter over. You could have put aside your personal feelings for the good of your country. You're obviously not fit to rule._

Curt roared in anger, trying to push the wizard's words out of his head. Still immobilized from the wizard's magic, he could do nothing but stare at the strange man in contempt and scream profanities at him.

_Look at you now, completely helpless. So many have died because of your uselessness. Because of your personal feelings and your stubbornness, your entire castle and the capital of your country have been destroyed. Now you have nothing._

"You won't break me, wizard." Curt snarled. They had been going at this for hours. The entire front of the castle had exploded right in front of him, taking his entire court, all of the advisors, servants, and guards, save for the two that had been by his side. One had been thrown into a wall, and the other onto a pile of bodies behind the wizard. The man on the bodies had awoken a couple hours later, made as if to attack the wizard from behind, and then thought better of it. He had left down the path to the town, signaling to Curt that he was going to get help.

"Is that all you've got? You're going to hold me here to tell me what a bad king I am?"

_No, I'm going to break you. _

"Well you're not very good at it."

_Oh, you won't make it much longer. Already I can sense you beginning to weaken. Let me show you what we did to your daughter. That might…loosen you up._

Curt's vision suddenly went blank, and he felt himself falling. Suddenly, he snapped back to reality, finding himself sitting in a dark crevice underneath a large rock face. It was nighttime now.

_What happened?_ He thought, and started to look around, only to find that he wasn't in control of his own body. This was obviously some sort of memory. It wasn't the wizard's, though. The body he was occupying was enormous and dark-skinned.

_This is how your daughter died. I hope you enjoy the show. The Mageri have always been good at assassinating high value targets. They're also known for their brutality. And what better way to experience this priceless moment in history than through this assassin's own eyes? _The wizard's voice cackled maniacally in Curt's head.

Curt couldn't even respond. He was forced to watch as the man surveyed the scene. This was obviously Lake Hylia, and it appeared that Link and Zelda had fallen asleep by the shore. Link was tossing and turning, apparently not sleeping well. His horse was standing next to him, almost as if guarding him. She was staring right at the assassin.

Quietly, the Mageri moved. Curt felt as if he himself were moving, but couldn't control anything. As the assassin moved closer to Link, he pulled out his sword and a throwing knife, and began swiftly, but completely silently, running towards the couple on the beach. Curt began feeling a sense of dread.

When the Mageri was about twenty feet away, he pulled back the throwing knife and stepped into a throw, using the momentum of his sprint to add velocity to the knife. Hearing the knife whistling through the air, Link jumped up, but too late. Curt's vision flashed, and the knife struck Link in the gut. He doubled over in pain. Zelda jumped up and back, preparing her magic.

The Mageri quickly ran to Link, switching his sword to his right hand, and thrust it through his chest. Curt heard Zelda scream in the background, but he was too shocked at the whole situation. Link would have never been caught off guard like that, especially with his horse sitting right next to him trying to warn him.

But here he was, bleeding out on the ground, dead to all appearances. The Mageri turned his attention to Zelda, who was in the process of firing a lightning bolt at him, only to find that her magic wouldn't work. She tried again, but there was nothing. She had nothing to defend herself, not even a sword.

Curt wanted to sob, but couldn't. He couldn't even look away as the Mageri walked over to his daughter, dropped his sword, and knocked her onto the ground. He had to sit there as the assassin held her down and raped her as she screamed. He couldn't even close his eyes as the man slowly cut her intestines out. He couldn't cover his ears to block out her dying screams.

Curt found himself back in the throne room, gasping for air, crying out to the goddesses for help. He was still immobilized, and the wizard was laughing hysterically again.

_This is what you have caused, King Nordica. You could have prevented this, but you let your personal feelings get in the way of your duty to your country. Now your daughter is dead, and your castle is gone, along with the rest of the capital city. Kakariko Village and the other provinces are soon to follow. And you will watch each and every one of them fall under the power of Fajfar. Your military, your kingdom, your people, are all gone, all because of you._

Curt hung his head down. He was not broken, no. But he was now the former king of a destroyed Hyrule with no family left. He had no friends to stand by his side. He was alone.

**BREAK**

"Come on!" Jack called from ahead of Link. "Just a little further."

Link had been helping Zelda over a ledge, but could understand Jack's rush. He was a soldier sworn to protect the king to his own death, and had been forced to leave him to find help. The man had made the right decision, though. Generally, a wizard who can blow up half of a castle at one time is not someone you want to take on alone. Jack was more use to the king alive and looking for help than burnt to a crisp on the floor.

"Jack, slow down. You can't rush into this. The king is more likely to survive if we sneak up on the wizard than if he hears us coming from half a mile away." I said as we caught up to him.

"Well, if he heard us coming from half a mile away, it's too late now. What's left of the throne room is just around the next corner." Jack said.

Zelda's hands began glowing with a clear white light, and I pulled out my bow, ready to use a light arrow if need be.

"Jack, don't try to do anything. This is a fight that's better left to magic at this point. If he were worried about the average sword, he wouldn't have appeared in the throne room in the middle of the day. Just stay back. If we fail, run to Kakariko and evacuate the villagers. Then go to Zora's Domain and Gerudo Desert. Take them east, and find a place to hide. Don't come back here for any reason. There will be nothing for you here." I said as I put a hand on his shoulder.

Jack looked as if he was about to argue, but submitted to my logic after a few seconds. "Godspeed, you two." He turned around to head back out of the blast radius of whatever battle was about to follow.

Zelda and I gave each other a nod, and quietly headed around the corner.

The king appeared to be held by magic to the wall behind the throne. His head was hanging down, and he was unconscious, but alive. The wizard, on the other hand, was working a spell, facing away from me. Dark mist flowed around him and into the king's body. Curt suddenly moaned in pain, then opened his eyes and let loose a string of curses at the wizard.

"You may have killed my daughter, and you may have killed my people, but you have not broken me!" He yelled, straining against the invisible bonds holding him to the wall. He had not noticed us yet. That was probably for the best. If he thought Zelda was dead, but she appeared, he would make her presence known, even if it was merely a glance over in her direction.

Curt was still struggling against his bonds as I pulled the string back on my bow, preparing a light arrow. It seemed the wizard was focused entirely on the task at hand. He wasn't even slightly concerned about something sneaking up behind him. His arrogance and sense of comfort were his one fatal mistake.

After lining up the arrow with his heart, I let it loose, praying that it would land square in his back and not be deflected.

As the arrow neared the wizard, the dark mist concealed him, but didn't block the arrow. As it pierced the mist, the light disappeared, and the dark mist opened up, expanding across the room. The wizard screamed in pain, but I couldn't see him yet. I heard a thud, and could only assume that the king had fallen from the wall. I patted Zelda's shoulder, motioning for her to stay put. She nodded.

Pulling out my sword, I stepped closer to where the wizard had been. As I came up to the spot he had been standing, I slowed, squinting into the darkness. On the ground was a simple pile of ash. I prodded it, and poked a charred piece of wood that looked to be what was left of his staff.

"It's safe," I called out to Zelda as the mist continued to clear. I could see the orange glow of the fires in the town peeking through.

"Dad!" Zelda called, moving closer to where Curt had been. Moving carefully, she made her way to the far wall.

I found Curt first. He was lying on the ground, unconscious again, but seemed to be all right.

"Found him. Come over here and let's get him out of here." I lifted him onto my shoulders and moved towards Zelda, who I could see clearly now. The mist had completely dissipated.

"Did that actually work, or did the wizard teleport and run?" Zelda asked, glancing down at the ash on the floor.

"My guess is that it worked. But he was not human. Even Ganon didn't turn to ash when we killed him with light arrows. He was some kind of demon. That would explain his unbelievable skill with magic. And it would also explain why he was so easy to kill. From everything I've read, the demons' magicks couldn't comprehend how to stop the powers of light, so they would surround themselves in darkness at all times. That would be the dark mist." I said, still trying to make sense of everything that had just happened.

"He didn't look how I imagined a demon would." Zelda said, but changed the subject. "Is he all right?" She pointed at Curt.

"Yes, he's probably fine. He's strong; it doesn't look like the demon broke him. We'll see when he wakes up."

"What happens if he broke?" Zelda asked, worry creeping into her voice.

"I don't know."

**BREAK**

Jack met us by the fountain in Castle Town. "Is that…? Is he ok?" He asked, motioning to the king as I set him down.

"I think he's all right. Time will tell." I said. "We need to get out of the town, though. There's nothing here for us to help with. Everything is gone."

I went to pick up the king, but Jack stopped me. "Link, what is that?" He pointed at an alleyway.

Standing in the alley were at least fifteen of the Mageri, watching our every move. I looked over my shoulder, and felt a chill run down my spine. Every alley was filled with the assassins. There had to be hundreds. They were just sitting there watching us, seemingly not caring that we had been alerted to their presence. A shadow appeared at the gate, and more Mageri jumped down from the wall.

The assassins in the alleys filed out into the square, forming a semicircle around us, blocking our path out of the town.

_Maybe they're mad about the one at the lake. _I thought to myself.

"Jack, pick up the king and go to the castle, right now. Zelda, go with him. Defend him if you have to. Find a place to hole up while I hold them off. I'll come find you." I said.

Both of them nodded, trusting that I could hold my own against the assassins, and began carrying the king toward the castle.

I drew my sword, backing up to the narrow path that led to the castle, preventing them from surrounding me.

As one, the Mageri began moving forward. For the first time in a while, I felt a twinge of fear. Not for myself, but for Jack, Zelda, and Curt in the event that I failed.

It seemed like hours that I waited there, daring one of them to make the first move.

**BREAK**

"Where are we going?" Jack panted as he carried the king behind Zelda.

"I know a good place if it isn't collapsed. Somewhere deep in the castle where the assassins won't be able to sneak around behind us, and probably won't even be able to find. " Zelda said, stopping at a halfway collapsed flight of stairs. "Can you get him down here?"

"Yeah, I think so," Jack gasped, heaving the king on top of the rubble and climbing down. "I would appreciate if he would wake up now."

"Yeah, me too." Zelda muttered, making her way around the debris.

Almost as if on cue, the king groaned and opened his eyes. He took a few seconds to take in the surroundings, and then jumped up, reaching for his sword, only to find out that it wasn't in the scabbard, having fallen out somewhere along the way. He quickly reached in his shirt and pulled out a short knife, before stopping and squinting at Zelda.

"Am I dead?" Curt asked in disbelief.

"No. Link and I killed the wizard that blew up the castle and trapped you." Zelda said. Her eyes were tearing up and she ran to embrace her father. "I thought you weren't going to make it through whatever he did to you."

Jack cleared his throat awkwardly, and then gestured down to the bottom of the stairs. "Excuse me your majesties, but we still need to get somewhere that the assassins can't find us."

"You can fill me in on the way." Curt said. "Zelda, where are we going?"

"The Door." She said simply. Curt felt a chill run up his spine, but accepted her wisdom.

"On we go, then. This is something I never hoped I'd have to do." The king shook the stiffness out of his legs and began to run deeper into the castle.

**BREAK**

"Piece of shit."

I spat on the body of a Mageri on the ground next to me, taunting his few remaining brothers. These 'assassins' were looking more and more like brutes every time I killed one. I hadn't even had to block a swing. Much less had one of my own blocked. At least thirty had fallen, with more soon to come.

Almost too late, I saw the shadow fly across the ground. Quickly jumping out of the way, I regained my balance to find a Mageri with his sword deep in the earth where I had been standing. More began jumping from the high cliffs, surrounding me.

"Oh, really? You think surrounding me will work?" I chuckled, throwing my hands into the dirt.

It seemed that I had found a weakness in the Mageri. As Din's Fire exploded in a ring, the Mageri either cooked alive or fled. By the time the smoke cleared, there were only a few brave stragglers.

After hacking down the last few, I turned back and headed towards the castle. The words of an old strategy trainer came to my mind as I walked.

_Retreat is not a loss. Retreat is a strategy in its own. An enemy may retreat and regroup, then hit you harder and more precisely than before. They may retreat to make you think that you have won. You will relax. You might even rest. Sometimes, they'll retreat for so long, that you will party. That's when they strike. That's when they cut you down without mercy. _The man had said.

_The Mageri are not gone. They've retreated to regroup and bring in reinforcements. Possibly even the actual Fajfi army. This isn't over. _I thought as I headed towards the castle.

**BREAK**

"Here it is." Zelda said as the group reached a long corridor.

"I've heard legends of this place, but never once did I believe that they were true." Jack murmured. "A long, dark tunnel. The only thing at the end being The Door. The Door leading to almost certain death. You intend for us to go through?"

"No. We will not unless we have to. But, seeing as how Hyrule Castle is surrounded on three sides by mountains, and the only way out was through a crowd of assassins, this is just about the only place we can go that they may not find us. Sometimes almost certain death is better than certain death," Zelda said.

"Well, here we go, then." Curt said, and walked into the dark mouth of the tunnel. Zelda and, finally, Jack closely followed him.

After what seemed like ages, the three emerged into a well-lit, empty room large enough to fit fifty people. The roof stood at least thirty feet high, and holes in the stone allowed light in. Clean, white sunlight filled the room, and they could almost feel a fresh breeze.

At the end of the room stood a single wooden door.

"I imagined it to be a lot more…intimidating." Zelda said, glancing at the door at the end of the room. "Well, let's get comfortable. Link has to find us once he's done terrorizing the enemy. I hope he finds us…"

"Link is alive, too?" Curt asked, his mood seeming to lift higher.

"Yes? Why would you think he's dead?" Zelda asked, surprised.

"Well, let's talk since we seem to have a few hours to wait on your boy." Curt said. "Earlier today, I was sitting in the throne room trying to plan out which direction to move our troops…"

**BREAK**

I knew where Zelda had taken the other two, but that didn't make me want to go there. I had searched everywhere, and they were nowhere to be found. At least not in the upper levels of the ruined castle.

"Well, get over it and go do what you need to do." I muttered to myself. I reached a halfway caved in staircase and, seeing signs of recent passage, began the trip down into the pits of Hyrule Castle, only to stop as I heard a war horn.

_There's your reinforcements._ I thought, instantly filled with dread. If that was the Fajfi army that had been marching from the south, I had three options. One, I could escape now and hope that they didn't find the other three. Two, I could find the other three and hole up, hoping they didn't find us. Three, I could go get captured on purpose and feed them false information to lead them somewhere that Zelda wasn't.

_That won't work and you know it. There's nowhere to go. We're trapped, and even if you get captured, they'll wreak havoc on the rest of Hyrule until they find Curt and Zelda. They'll just simply kill Jack. You can't let that happen_

I began wracking my brain for ideas, and decided to find the other three. If I came up with a better plan, I could implement it afterwards, but they might have some ideas.

As I began moving downward, I was forced to stop. My feet simply wouldn't move.

"What magic is this?" I asked of whomever or whatever was doing this to me.

"Relax, Link. I'm here to help." Sounded a soothing, sweet voice. In front of me, at the bottom of the staircase, appeared the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She had blonde hair, a small frame, and was dressed in a green dress. Her eyes were a bright, vivid green that I had never seen before. Her very presence emanated peace and security. Just looking at her made me want to relax.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am Farore, the goddess of courage. I'm sure you know about me. You hold my triforce." She said.

I immediately dropped to my knees. "My goddess."

"Link, stand up." She said, and I did as she asked. "You hold the courage to take down all the armies of Fajfar, but not the skill. One man, no matter how powerful, no matter how courageous, cannot defeat the army camped outside this castle right now. But at the same time, you will not leave King Duncan to terrorize the innocents of Hyrule, with no chance of help."

I nodded my confirmation. I couldn't seem to get words out of my mouth.

"This is what you must do. Go down to Zelda, tell her to go through The Door. After that, you will not need to worry about her. Send the king and his guard with her. They will be safe." Farore said.

"Yes, my lady. But what about the Fajfi army?" I asked.

Farore walked up the steps towards me. "Din and Nayru have the answer you seek. They recovered their pieces of the Triforce after you sealed the Sacred Realm twelve years ago. They have given me those pieces to now pass on to you. You will not brave this storm alone."

Farore took my hand, leading me to the bottom of the stairs, and led me into the small room at the bottom.

"Link, I bestow the pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom and Power upon you. May you always find light in the dark, hope in the most hopeless of situations, and help when you feel helpless." She placed both of her hands on my left hand, and I was immediately filled with a warm sensation.

After a few seconds, Farore removed her hands, and lifted mine up to show me. Where the single Triforce once shone, was now a complete triad. In a few seconds, I had gained what Ganon had spent his entire life searching for. Yet I was not filled with the lust for power that I had always been afraid of. I simply felt powerful.

_Like I could stop an army. _I thought.

Farore looked up at me and smiled, showing her dazzlingly white teeth. Her smile captivated me. I couldn't look away.

Without warning, Farore wrapped me in her arms. "Thank you, Link. That must sound weird coming from me, but I mean it. You've fought so hard for those that you love. Even for those you don't know. I wish everyone had the same kind of valor and courage as you. You've saved Hyrule selflessly. You were ready to give up your life to stop its destruction at the hands of Ganon, and here you are doing the same thing again. Without you, my sisters and I would have faded into nothingness, and our people would have died." She reached up and kissed my cheek, then let go of her embrace

"Now that I'm done making you feel uncomfortable, I'll leave you to do your job. This isn't the last time you'll see me. I'm going to be guiding you through this journey of yours to defeat King Duncan. Go do what I've told you to do, and then defeat Fajfar's army. You'll know what to do when you get there." She said, with another smile.

I was speechless. All I could manage was to choke out a simple "ok."

Farore laughed. "Loosen up, Link. I'm easy to talk to, actually. Goodbye, I'll be seeing you soon." She disappeared just as suddenly as she had come, leaving me to myself in the empty room.

**BREAK**

I barreled down the long tunnel, finally reaching the end without even breaking a sweat. Inside, I found Curt, Zelda, and Jack, scared out of their minds, having heard someone sprinting down the tunnel at full speed.

"Link!" Zelda was shocked. She jumped into my arms, holding me close. "We thought you had died, it's been so long since we left. What's going on out there?"

I released Zelda, and motioned for the other two to gather around me.

"You're all going to think I'm crazy, but you need to go through that door." I said. "I'll stay here and protect you from this end, but you have to go through. The entire Fajfi army is out there. There's no way for you three to escape."

Zelda was already shaking her head. "I'm not leaving you to some final stand here to kill as many of the Fajfi as you can. Surely you knew I wouldn't go for that." Curt and Jack were shaking their heads, too.

"It's not a final stand," I said, pulling off my gauntlet on my left hand. "Will you promise to believe everything I'm about to say if I show you this?" I lifted up my hand to show them the Triforce.

All three of them gasped. Zelda looked at her right hand, where the bottom-left triangle still glowed. "How did you get that? I still have mine, so you can't possibly have all three pieces."

"You don't have it, Zelda. You don't need it. You're gifted with wisdom even without it. It was taken away when I sealed off the Sacred Realm. Farore appeared to me on the way down here and gave me the other two pieces. This won't be a final stand because I have the power to completely tear apart Duncan's army. But Farore herself told me to send you through that door. I have to take Hyrule back alone." I said hurriedly.

Zelda looked as if she was about to argue, but then thought better of it.

"Farore appeared to you?" This time it was Curt asking me.

"Yes, she found me on the way down here and told me she would be helping me not only save Hyrule, but get rid of King Duncan. Without him gone, Hyrule will never be at peace." I said. "She told me specifically to send you through that door. You'll be safe."

"She expects me to just leave my people like a coward?" Curt asked, obviously agitated.

"No, father." Zelda said, looking at him. "She's expecting you to get out of Link's way while he saves Hyrule. There's nothing for you here right now. And there's a possibility that the goddesses have plans for us behind that door." I was surprised that she had taken my side, but she had never been one for letting emotions overpower her judgment.

"Go." I said to the three of them. "Now. You need to get out of here as soon as possible."

Curt sighed, giving in to his daughter's wisdom. "Link, I… I'm entrusting my kingdom to you. I'm sure you know what that means to me. Please, bring us back to a safe, peaceful Hyrule." He reached out and shook my hand firmly. "I know you'll do well. Good luck to you. I'll see you on the far side."

Jack shook my hand. "Thank you for saving me, Link. I'll do my best to protect these two."

I smiled. "I doubt you'll need to where you're going, but thank you, Jack. It's been an honor serving with you." He moved over to where Curt was standing, giving Zelda and I some privacy.

"Link…" Her eyes were tearing up.

I had no words. Instead, I embraced her. For a few minutes, the two of us stood there in each other's arms, enjoying our last moments together.

_Our last moments for now. Not for all time. _I thought.

I pulled away, then leaned in and gave her a long kiss.

"Goodbye, Zelda. I promise I'll come back for you, and maybe we can have the future we wanted instead of this giant crap-shoot." I said softly.

She squeezed my hand gently, and then gave me another kiss. "Goodbye, Link."

She walked over to The Door, where Curt and Jack were waiting for her. Jack pulled it open, and walked into the bright golden light behind it. Curt glanced back at me, saluted, and followed.

Zelda looked back, then turned and stepped into the light, closing the door behind herself.

After a few seconds, I made my way back upstairs.

**BREAK**

Just a few minutes later, I found myself at Castle Town's ruined gates. Before me was spread an entire army of Fajfar, swallowing Hyrule Field as far as I could see. The scout had been correct about the numbers. There were more men in this army before me than the entire population of Castle Town before the explosion.

Drawing my sword, I stepped out into the field. The entire front of the army went quiet, and the silence began moving back through the ranks.

"Let's see what this Triforce can do." I said to myself. Flexing my arms, I began walking toward the Fajfi banners.

**END**

**Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm going to remind all readers right now that I said that this would NOT be your average Zelda/Link fanfic. When you find out what I mean by that, I bet you're going to be disappointed at first. However, if you keep reading despite being disappointed, I can guarantee that you'll like the plot twist better than if it were your average ZeLink thing.**

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this new chapter. I'd really like more reviews. I'm only getting one or two each time I post a new chapter. **

**Vivi**

**BREAK**

Chapter 7

As the silence fell over the Fajfi army, General Lovar looked up from his map to find out what the problem was. He pointed at his assistant.

"Sergeant, what's the problem?" Lovar asked in his gravely voice developed over years of yelling through the noises of the battlefield.

"I don't know, sir. Would you like me to find out?" The sergeant asked.

"Yes." Lovar said. "Quickly. I'm ready to get into that castle, find the king, and get out. We have better things to do than stay here."

Before the sergeant left, however, a lieutenant sprinted into General Lovar's tent, stopping in front of him and saluting.

"Sir, there's a man walking from the town's gates towards us right now. He has his sword drawn. Should I have the archers take care of him?" The lieutenant panted.

"What in blazes does that mean? A man walking towards an army with his sword drawn? I'm coming to see this." General Lovar stood up, chuckling to himself. "Blasted fool."

Lovar made his way out of the tent, pushing his way to the front line to see for himself what was going on.

Perhaps half a mile away was a man walking towards the Fajfi army with his sword drawn, as described. He was wearing a green tunic coated in dried blood. His sword was coated in blood, as well. His shield was still on his back, and he appeared to be in no hurry.

"What does he think he's doing?" Lovar asked himself, then turned to the lieutenant who had followed him here. "Go get a jailors wagon. We'll throw him in with the deserters. I'm not going to give him the glorious death on the battlefield he obviously wants."

The lieutenant barked out some orders, and a minute later, a large carriage made entirely of steel bars was pulled to the front. The lieutenant gathered twenty swordsmen and ten archers, and then sent the group forward.

**BREAK**

When I was half a mile away, I saw a jailor's wagon pull out of the front line, along with a large contingent of guards.

_They think they can capture me? _I thought, and grimaced to myself. _I guess we're about to find out how effective the completed triforce is._

A few minutes later, the wagon had closed in on me. The contingent of guards surrounded me quickly, shouting for me to halt. I did as they said, waiting for them to come closer.

One of the swordsmen stepped out from the circle around me. "Drop your sword, now, or we will put you down." The archers drew back their arrows, training them on me.

I smiled at the man, and put my sword back in my sheath.

"I said drop it, not sheathe it. You would do well to cooperate right now of all times. If you value your life, that is." The soldier said.

"No," I said loud enough for everyone in the circle to hear. "You would all do well to drop your weapons and go home now, if you value your lives. If you want your wives to be widowed and your children to be fatherless, release those arrows. I dare you."

The men were obviously taken aback by my statement. After a couple seconds, a few of them started laughing, including the speaker of the group.

"Really now? All right." He pointed at four of the archers. "Hit him in the legs."

The archers hesitated, looking at me with uncertainty.

I looked the speaker in the eye. "You die first." I said, with a smile meant to disconcert him.

The smile worked. The man was obviously very uncomfortable. "Fire, NOW!" He yelled at the archers. They gave each other one quick glance, and loosed their arrows.

Immediately, I knew Farore had been right about knowing what to do when the time came. My body seemed to move on its own. I reached out and caught each arrow, without any hesitation. To the soldiers surrounding me, my hand was a blur moving through the air, and I suddenly held all four of the arrows in the air.

"How the hell…?" I heard some of the soldiers say. I turned to the speaker again, smiling.

"I warned you." I said, before throwing an arrow at him like a throwing knife. It struck in the gap between his helmet and breastplate, spewing his blood all over the ground. He doubled over, coughing up blood, and eventually collapsed.

I looked around at the other soldiers, who were backing away from me now. "Kill him!" One of them shouted at the archers. "Everyone shoot him at once!"

The archers responded better to leadership, and all fired on me. As before, I easily caught all the arrows. Leaning down, I set the stack on the ground, and stood up slowly. My left hand started glowing brightly.

"You invaded my home, killed my friends, and blew up our castle. You will all pay for this. Enjoy your time in hell." The words seemed to come from nowhere. I slammed my fist into the ground, and fire erupted around me. A column of it rose into the air, twisting around the soldiers and cooking them alive.

The display sent quite a stir through the Fajfi army. As the column of fire cleared, I could see men fleeing from the front ranks, and officers holding would-be deserters at sword point, forcing them to stay on the front line.

I marveled at what I had just done. While I didn't enjoy carnage, this was a different situation. These men had intended to destroy what was left of Hyrule, all for nothing.

I began walking towards the army again, and saw more commotion ensue.

_Be careful Link. Remember who you are. _Farore's voice sounded in my head. _And remember after you're done that this kind of power is only to be used in the most drastic of situations._

No words needed to be said on my part. She knew that I wouldn't abuse this power.

As I closed in on the front lines of the army, all fell completely silent. I raised my voice, finding it projected.

"Where is your commanding officer?" I asked.

"Right here." I heard a gravely voice say right in front of me. The man was older, and obviously a general. He appeared to have seen many battles. The scars on his face and hands told the stories. "What do you want, magician? We've already seen what you can do. What terms are you offering?" He said.

"I'm not here to negotiate." I said, simply. "I'm here to tell you what you're going to do."

"Sure. Tell me what I'm going to do, boy." The man said.

"You will turn around and go home, right now. When you get there, every single one of you will demilitarize and go home to your families. You will also tell King Duncan to prepare himself." I said. "None of you will come to his defense, no matter what happens."

"You really think I'm going to do that? I've sworn an oath to obey King Duncan's orders to my death, along with every man on this battlefield. I have no intention of betraying my country." The general said. "You may be able to burn a few of my soldiers alive, but we have a force of twenty thousand strong here. You can't keep up that kind of magic long enough to hope to defeat us on your own."

I looked the general in the eye for a moment. "You have one other option, general. I will kill every single Fajfi soldier on this battlefield, except for you. You will be left alive to stagger home and tell your king what happened here. And so that you can watch me prove your last statement wrong."

I had to admit, this general was holding himself well. I was even beginning to scare myself, but he wasn't outwardly fazed.

"Try me, wizard. You'll find no cowards here." The general said.

_It's time. Do what you must. _Farore said to me.

"I tried." I said calmly, and took a step back.

Lifting my hands into the air, I surrounded myself with a golden light. I could hear the shouts of the soldiers as they readied their bows and began loosing arrows at me, to no avail.

The golden light shot into the sky with a bang, the clouds in its path parting. A few seconds later, the entire sky erupted in the same shade of gold, and the clouds disappeared entirely. I pointed towards the Fajfi army, who were now slowly backing away from me and shouting in fear. Letting out a savage war cry, I slammed my palm into the ground.

The beam of gold light shot back down from the sky into the middle of the army, seemingly melting the men caught inside of it. Their bodies were burnt to ash in seconds, killing them before they could even hit the ground. The beam began spreading, catching those in its wake. It moved too fast for them to flee. Many of the soldiers tripped over their comrades trying to claw their way out of the way.

The front line had completely dissolved by this point, running in every direction they could. They were all fighting a losing battle to escape the rapidly expanding beam of light.

Only one man still stood on the front line. The general just stared at me in awe, his sword drawn, but its tip in the ground. He knew he was helpless against this. As the beam neared him, I split it so that he would not be harmed. He didn't even seem to notice.

After a few minutes, the entire army had been consumed. The beam of light dissipated, and the sky returned to normal. Even the clouds reappeared, as if nothing had happened. All that was left was a field full of ash, the general, and myself.

The general's mouth opened in shock. He had dropped his sword, and the passing light had melted the top half of it.

"You…How…" He stammered.

"I gave you a chance, general. 20,000 men all dead because of you." I said. "Now, where are the other armies?"

"You will never get information from me." He growled. "Torment me all you want, but I will not bring this same fate to the other armies."

I considered beating the information from the man, but decided that there had been enough bloodshed for one day.

"Go home now, general. If you want, I give you permission to go to the other generals and tell them what happened here. I have no desire to make a widow of every woman in Fajfar." I said, grabbing the man's hand and lifting him to his feet. "You have one week before I destroy them, too."

I picked up what remained of his sword and tossed it to him.

"Now get out of my country." I said, and began walking back towards Hyrule Castle.

**BREAK**

Several hours later, I found myself sitting in an undamaged portion of the dining hall. The adrenaline rush had worn off long ago, and I had finally been hit with the magnitude of what I had done.

I hadn't been filled with an innate satisfaction or pride. I hadn't felt relief. I had simply felt guilt. For hours now, I had had my head in my hands, crying my eyes out like a small child.

_20,000 men, gone in just a few minutes. Fathers, sons, husbands, boyfriends, all gone for nothing. Why did I have to do this? Why did it fall on me to bring death to that many people?_

I lay there for what felt like the better part of a day before eventually crying myself to sleep.

Was it worth it? Had I done the right thing? Or was I just continuing the bloodshed?

As I lay there, still feeling nothing but grief, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I didn't care who it was. If it was a Mageri that had been hiding in the rubble, they could kill me now. I didn't care about anything.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Link." I heard Farore say as she sat down next to me.

I started to retort, but she stopped me. "I know what you're going to say. How could I possibly tell you not to be hard on yourself when you just killed 20,000 people?"

I nodded. That had been exactly what I was going to say, word for word.

"I tell you not to be too hard on yourself because you trusted me. You did what I told you to do. You did what was right for your country, for the people you try so hard to protect. In killing those Fajfi soldiers, you prevented just as many Hylian deaths. While that doesn't change the fact that those men are dead, you can be comforted when Hyrule is safe. You will know that your sacrifices made that possible. Whether or not you know it, you made a huge sacrifice when you destroyed that army. You put the well-being of Hyrule before yourself, and did what had to be done. Even if it was gruesome."

It was a little better when she put it like that, but I still wasn't comfortable with what I had done. I probably never would be.

"And what about the other armies that are probably in Hyrule?" I asked Farore. "I feel completely exhausted right now. I couldn't possibly do that again, and I don't know if my mind could take that. What am I supposed to do when I find them?"

"Time will tell." Farore said. "I don't even know for sure what will happen in the future. I do know that you will do what needs to be done, no matter what the cost is to yourself. You know that, too. You would raze a thousand armies for the sake of Hyrule if you needed to."

I nodded, knowing she was right. Her very presence there was calming to me. Maybe it was her voice, or the fact that she was a goddess, but I appreciated it. Right now, all I needed was someone to talk to, and she was here for me.

I sat up, taking a deep breath and rubbing my eyes, hoping the redness would go away quickly. I hated crying in front of other people. In fact, only Epona had ever seen me do it, but she didn't mind. She'd just nuzzle me until I felt better.

"I'm guessing you wouldn't answer my questions about fate and all that stuff?" I asked Farore. "Mainly why I'm the one having to do all this. Because if this is my fate, it sucks."

"You'll figure it out for yourself." She said with one of her dazzling smiles. "Actually, you probably never will."

"You're no fun." I said, trying to loosen up a little bit like she had told me to. Farore laughed.

"Yes I am, you just don't know yet." She said, and then paused. "Let's go down into the town. We should cremate the dead and lay them to rest."

Another wave of sadness hit me at the reminder of the fate of Castle Town's people, but I got up and walked out of the castle with her. On the way, I looked at the wrecked castle and was reminded of the wizard who had done it.

"Farore?" I asked as we walked down the path to the town. She looked over her shoulder at me. "Was that wizard that blew up the castle a demon? I've never seen such destructive magic besides…well yeah. Besides yesterday."

"Yes, he was. One of very few remaining. He allied himself with King Duncan in exchange for power. He would rape and torture young girls to their deaths. He…also had a taste for necrophilia and necromancy. He was so corrupt, that your light arrow is still tormenting him, even in death. He was an unbelievably powerful wizard, with the notion that the best defense is a good offense. That was his downfall." She said.

"Alright, so humor me with another answer then." I said.

"About what?" She asked.

"Why haven't you come down here before? I'm sure Hyrule has needed your help many times before, but I've never heard of you coming to us before. Why now? Why me?"

"Well, Din, Nayru, and I made a pact that we would leave Hyrule alone, for the most part. We wanted its citizens to lead their own lives without being constantly monitored. We would watch from afar, but not change the course of events. Essentially, we're allowed to be here, but nobody can know who we really are, and we cannot change events from happening. Before, if I had seen a man being beaten by bandits, I could do nothing. Not even call for guards." She said.

"Why is that different now, then?" I asked, puzzled.

"Because King Duncan had every intention of completely destroying Hyrule, along with all of its people. He would have succeeded if you hadn't stood in the way. And you wouldn't have been there to stand in the way without the complete Triforce."

"All right, that explains why you came to me yesterday, but why today? Why again?"

"Because I…didn't go back after yesterday. And you needed a friend today." She said with a smile. "Besides, I'm liking this change of scenery. I'm going to be traveling with you for a while, if you don't mind. I could help you rebuild Hyrule if you want. It'll be much easier for you with me here."

Something in her voice made me think she wasn't telling me the whole truth. I doubted she was lying, but I definitely wasn't getting all the details. It was almost like she was pleading with me to be allowed to join me.

_There's more to this than that, _I thought

"Hmmm, you're smart." She said, suddenly. "And before you ask, yes I can hear your thoughts. And yes, there's more to it than that. If you want to know, I'll tell you tonight."

"All right, I'll hold you to that."

_Why are you surprised that she can read your mind? She's a goddess._ I thought to myself. Of course, that also meant she knew how attractive I thought she was. And what her smiles did to me. My mind started racing with embarrassment until we made it to the ruins of Castle Town.

"Link, you can cremate these people by simply laying your hands on them." Farore said. "I know this will be tough, but you're doing these people a great service. They deserve nothing less. Nobody would want to be left to rot in the street."

"I'll make it." I said, glancing around at the bodies in the street, steeling myself for the horrible things I was about to see. "Just…Don't leave me please. I'm used to corpses, I'm just not feeling great right now. I guess that's normal after what I did yesterday."

Farore walked over and grasped my hand, giving it a squeeze. "I'll be right here with you helping. Remember, you're not going to have to handle anything alone. Especially not this."

Farore and I walked through the streets and entered houses together, cremating the bodies we found, leaving piles of dark ash where they had been. For what seemed like ages, we repeated the process over and over again, until every body Farore could sense had been cremated. The entire process had taken over 12 hours.

"How many died?" I asked the goddess, almost not wanting to hear the answer.

"About 6,000. But the population of Castle Town was much higher than that." She said, glancing over at me.

"So well over half survived? How is that possible? And where are they now?" I asked, puzzled by this whole scenario.

"I wish I could tell you, but I was only paying attention when half of Hyrule Castle got blown up. I didn't see what happened to the town." Farore said. "But, the demon might have teleported some of them back to Fajfar as leverage against the king. The demon was obviously meant to bring King Nordica back alive, seeing as how he wasn't dead when you got there."

"Senseless destruction and death…" I muttered. "I'm going to go find some food, though. I haven't eaten in forever. And I probably need some sleep, too." I said as I yawned.

"I'm guessing the castle would be the safest place. And the kitchens probably still have some food. They were behind the blast." Farore said, and then yawned with me.

We began our trip back up to the castle after taking a moment to collect ourselves.

"So what's the part you're not telling me about why you're here?" I asked.

"I guess there's no beating around the bush with you. I was hoping that you would have forgotten by now." Farore smiled. "I'm getting bored. Ages and ages of doing absolutely nothing. We're almost exactly like all of you, we just happen to be goddesses. The three of us argue with each other just like siblings here. That sounds weird, but it's true. Sometimes the thunderstorms here are caused by us beating the crap out of each other."

I chuckled. "All the farmers here would encourage you to beat the crap out of each other more often, then. Is that it, though? You were bored, so you found a good reason to help us?"

"Well…there are other reasons I guess. I'm in need of a break from my normal life. I'm getting sort of sick of hanging out with my sisters all the time. Sometimes I like to talk to people. I'll come down here looking like a normal person, go to a bar, have a few drinks, and join in with the dancing. It's much more fun down here. And…actually you probably don't need to know that part." Farore grinned, once again flashing me that beautiful smile.

"You know I'm going to bother you about it constantly now. You can't bring something up like that and not follow through with it." I laughed. She was obviously messing with me.

"Alright, well don't tell me I didn't try to warn you." She chuckled, and smiled again.

It was a forced smile, though. Whatever she was about to tell me would be an evasion.

"We're women, too. Sometimes we have…very woman-like desires. Even though we're goddesses, we can't shake it. Not like we'd want to. Nayru is the worst about it, though."

"So you come down here to sleep with the men?" I laughed again, a little harder this time. That hadn't been the evasion I'd expected. "Well, I doubt you have an issue luring them into bed."

_She's still hiding something. She's telling the truth, but it's not what she wanted to say. _

"Actually, I never have." Farore said. "The one time I tried, I almost blew my cover. So I never tried again. Nayru, on the other hand, does it all the time. Apparently the men from Kakariko are particularly long-lasting."

That caught my attention. Once or twice, I'd heard the tale of a beautiful girl who would visit The Flowing Keg in Kakariko. This young girl would approach a single man and simply ask him for a good time. She would go upstairs with him, ride him all night, and be gone in the morning without a trace. The room was paid for, and the man would stagger down in the morning with a look on his face that could only be called euphoric.

"So that's Nayru? The girl who shows up at The Flowing Keg?" I asked, my curiosity piqued. I decided to let her off the hook about whatever she was hiding from me for now. She obviously had a good reason for not telling me.

"Yeah, that's her." Farore chuckled. "I figured news would spread about that. I'd imagine business at that bar has increased quite a bit among the single males of Kakariko since she started showing up there."

"That it has," I smiled. "One more thing?"

"Go for it."

"Where does that door underneath the castle lead?" I asked.

"It depends when you go in. If you go through it without me telling you to first, you'll go into the northern wastelands that you heard stories about as a child. Zelda and the king entered it with my permission, though, so they went into a special place. It's almost like a halfway point between heaven and here. It's endless woodland in which one will find nothing but serenity. Normally. Unfortunately, right now there are some things that I want those three to take care of."

"What things are they taking care of?" I asked.

"There's someone there that needs to be taken down a notch. I'll give you more details eventually, just give me a little while." Farore said.

I opened my mouth to argue, but Farore turned around and put her finger on my lips. "Don't worry about it. All these questions will be answered, but let's take this one step at a time. We have to stop Duncan first. But even before that, we both need some food and rest."

"All right." I sighed, curiosity tearing me apart. Then I thought about what she had said a second before.

"Farore, if you're a goddess, why do you need food and rest?" I asked.

"It's part of being down here. While I'm here, I have to do a lot of the things mortals do, like eat and sleep. And piss." She said, smiling to herself, as we made our way back into the kitchen.

Now that she mentioned it, I had some personal hygiene that I needed to take care of.

"Yeah, I'm going to go see if the baths are still working." I said, making my way towards the back half of the castle. "I'll be back in a little bit."

**BREAK**

Farore dug through the kitchen, finally finding something that looked tasty. Moving into the dining hall, she sat down at a table, beginning to scarf the food down in a very un-ladylike manner.

_Whatever, nobody cares, _she thought, looking around. _And Nayru, you can suck it about my eating habits. And pretty much everything else._

But one more thing crossed her mind. Link hadn't remembered that she could read his thoughts at the time, but she had heard them. He knew she had been evading the real answer to his question as to why she was here. What she had wished she could tell him. But no, it wasn't time for that little detail.

_Not yet. I'll tell him soon enough, but not yet. _She thought, exhaling slowly. _I should have come sooner._

As Farore ate, she began reflecting on the events of a few days before.

**BREAK**

"Farore, you are NOT going down there to help. That goes against every tradition we've ever upheld. That's not how we govern Hyrule. We leave it to its own devices. The people will help themselves, they always do." Nayru was practically screaming now.

"Who's stopping me, Nayru?" Farore asked. "You can't. Din won't. So what are you going to do if I decide to go? Bitch at me louder until I get sick of it?"

"What's going on in here?" Came Din's voice from outside Nayru's bedroom.

"Farore is planning on going down to stop that King Duncan character from destroying Hyrule." Nayru called back. We heard shuffling and Din burst into the room.

"What's that? You're going down there? Why?"

"I want to help. They can't survive this. All of their soldiers were either killed or scattered in that explosion a few hours ago. The Fajfi have four armies, all four of which are headed to the high population areas of Hyrule. Kakariko Village, Zora's Domain, Gerudo Fortress, and what's left of Castle Town. Everyone will die. Millions of people. Link is going into Castle Town, but he's about to be trapped by the Fajfi army and the Mageri. He will die unless we help him, along with the rest of the citizens of Hyrule." Farore said.

"This is ridiculous. We've seen worse than this before. They always come back from it." Nayru said.

"Yeah… I don't know sis, you should probably leave it alone for now…" Din was uncertain, though.

"Din, the Fajfi wizard completely destroyed Castle Town, killed half the residents, and the rest completely disappeared. You're telling me I should leave it alone? That's bullshit and you know it. Link can help the rest of Hyrule, but he can't do it alone." Farore said. She was beginning to lose her temper now that they had tag teamed her.

"Oh, I know what this is about. You've been fascinated with that boy for years now. This is about him, isn't it?" Nayru said accusingly.

"No! Of course not!" Farore blushed slightly. "That would hardly be appropriate. I'm trying to help Hyrule you stupid-"

Farore was interrupted by Nayru tackling her to the ground. "You're lying now! You want to be with him!" She yelled as they rolled over each other, pulling hair and biting each other.

"You stupid bitch!" Farore screamed, throwing Nayru off. "Here you are, sitting here like nothing is wrong, lost in your own world of being a goddess. You _never_ do anything besides sit here and stare at yourself in the mirror and go to that stupid bar of yours in Kakariko Village!" Nayru ran at Farore to tackle her again.

An idea suddenly came to Farore as she threw her sister to the ground. "You'll never go to that bar again if these men make it to Kakariko." That got Nayru's attention. "They'll just burn the village to the ground and kill everyone there. No more late night flings, no more seducing random men, nothing. You'll have to spend all your time up here with us. Unless you _want _that…"

That _definitely_ got Nayru's attention. She certainly didn't want to let that go. "Fine, what are you planning on doing down there?"

"I want to complete Link's Triforce." Farore said.

"You don't think he'd go mad from the power?" Din chimed in, her curiosity piqued.

"No, he won't. As Nayru so bluntly stated, I've been fascinated with him for years. He doesn't want power, but he accepts it without hesitation. He's the one we've been looking for."

"That's not the only reason you've been fascinated with him..." Nayru pouted.

"What's it to you? Especially you, Nayru." Farore pointed an accusing finger at her sister, who was still sitting on the ground.

"But you know the cost of going down there to help him." Din said. It was a statement, not a question. "Nayru and I going to a bar for a one night fling does nothing to break the pact we made, but helping a mortal does."

Farore sighed, "Yes, I know. But I feel it's time. I'm getting bored here. We do nothing but bitch at each other and watch everything going on."

Nayru actually had tears in her eyes now. She hadn't expected this. If she had, she wouldn't have been treating Farore so horribly the past few months. "Are you absolutely sure? We can't stop you, but you can't come back. You'll be…" She trailed off.

"Yes, I know what this means. I'm ready. I want to live. My time has come. That time will come for both of you one day, too. Then you'll understand. I don't mind that I'll be mortal, that I'll die. I've lived here for too long. Besides, it's not like I'll be losing everything when I'm down there. I'll still have a lot of my powers. Hopefully I'll have…well yeah. It won't be so bad." Farore replied

"I just…" Nayru was crying now. "I'm so sorry for how I've been treating you recently… I don't want you to go away from us because of me. If that's what this is about. You're still my sister, I… I…"

Din looked unhappy, too. Fortunately, she was taking it better than Nayru. "I trust your judgment. If you think it's time for your descent, you're probably right." She walked over and gave Farore a big hug, and then whispered in her ear. "I love you, please take care of yourself."

"Thank you, Din. But you won't have to worry about that. You'll see." She pulled out of her hug and smiled at her, then made her way over to Nayru.

"Get up, you whiny bitch." she said, smiling at her so she knew it was a joke. Nayru jumped up and hugged her.

"Please be safe. We can't come help if you get in trouble." Nayru was crying into her shoulder.

"Can I have your pieces of the Triforce to give to Link?" Farore asked her sisters.

Din walked over to her and transferred hers, with Nayru doing the same.

"Goodbye." Farore said, tears starting to form in her eyes. She headed downstairs to her bedroom.

Once she was there, she pulled on a green dress that she had been saving for this occasion. She had known that she was ready for years, but had never been able to find a good enough reason to go live with the mortals in Hyrule as one of them, rather than just observing from afar.

She wanted to look good when she got there.

"Link, I hope you're the kind of man I think you are." Farore muttered, and walked down to the balcony that overlooked Hyrule.

Once there, she turned and took one look back at the giant manor she had lived in since the beginning of time. Had she felt any uncertainty after looking at it, she wouldn't have jumped off the balcony. But she knew it was time not only for Hyrule to be saved, but also for her to truly find happiness.

Without looking back again, Farore leaned over the balcony and dropped through dimensions, into the world of Hyrule.

**BREAK**

I slowly made my way back to the kitchen, feeling much better now that I was clean-shaven and had washed a week's worth of dirt off myself. Unfortunately, my clothes were too damp to wear, and I hadn't been able to find anything but a robe that barely fit.

_Whatever, _I thought ruefully, _Let Farore look if she wants. She might like it._

I chuckled to myself as I walked up the steps leading to the kitchen, remembering too late that she could read my thoughts.

"Maybe I will." She laughed as I rounded the corner. Then, when she looked, "Oh, damn, I do!"

I immediately turned red. "I don't like this whole you reading my mind thing. I can't keep all the embarrassing stuff in around you." I headed towards the table she was sitting at, seeing that she had found food.

Farore shrugged, moving over so I could sit down next to her. "It's cute how much you like my smile." She said sweetly. "I've never been one to get embarrassed by anything, anyways. That was always Din. Of course, she has a lot to be embarrassed about after Ganondorf got her piece of the Triforce."

"I'm not as concerned whether or not _you're _embarrassed," I grumbled, but put aside my thoughts on the matter. The food on the table in front of me was much more important right now.

"I should tell you now, since I was just thinking about it." Farore said after a few minutes.

"What's that?" I asked.

"I'm…oh how do I say this… I'm not actually a goddess…anymore, I mean. I'm still Farore, but I sort of gave up my immortality so that I could help you."

I almost inhaled the food I was eating. "You _gave up immortality_ to help me?!"

"Well it's a little more complicated than that. Yes, I did, but I've been looking for a reason to for a few years anyways. I told you I was bored, and this is my way to find happiness. I still have powers, but basically I'm just an extremely powerful magician who knows a lot of stuff."

"What do you mean find happiness? Even if you were bored, weren't you happy being a goddess?" I was still shocked.

"No." She said simply. "Maybe you have to be immortal to understand, but it just gets old after awhile. Besides, I found something here that meant more to me than immortality."

"And what was that?" I asked, puzzled.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." Farore said, giving me a wink and a smile, making me turn dark red. "Alright, I'm going to find a place to sleep. You should, too. You look exhausted."

_How does she do that to me by just smiling? _I thought

"I heard that." Farore giggled as she left the room.

_Son of a bitch_

**There you guys go. Enjoy. And don't forget to review. I live for reviews. **

**Vivi**


	8. Chapter 8

**Now that I got my issues sorted out with the appearance of my story, I can go back to writing! Happy days! I'm making an attempt to make the different scenes longer. I have a feeling that will probably seem less choppy and rushed, plus give more details. But, I wouldn't know if that would make my story better, because nobody is reviewing.**

**Please leave reviews. It would make my day if someone left me a review for every three chapters or so. Even just a single review is great, though. I've been getting at least 50 views every day, but I've only had a two reviews in four days. I write this for you people! So review!**

**Gig 'Em**

**Vivi**

Chapter 8

A few days passed while I regained my strength. It seemed that even the completed triforce had its limits, and I was definitely feeling it. I had been sleeping 14 hours at a time, waking up exhausted, and felt sick all the time. I was in no condition to go to Kakariko Village and defend the people there. I'd hardly be able to raise my sword if an enemy force showed up there, much less use the Triforce.

Farore had been acting much more subdued for those few days. She seemed convinced that Kakariko and the other areas of Hyrule would be safe for now. I was in no mood to argue with her. Not while I felt like throwing up all day, hardly able to get out of my bed in the morning.

As I lay in bed, my mind wandered, as it did every night before I fell asleep. I kept thinking about what Farore had said to me a few days before.

_What did she find here that meant more to her than immortality? What could be worth more than being a goddess? That doesn't make sense. Although maybe I'd have to be immortal to understand. _I thought to myself. I doubted I'd ever understand. The whole situation just seemed strange to me.

Instead, I let my mind wander in different directions. Eventually, I settled onto Zelda and the king. Farore had told me that they'd be in an endless forest. I wondered how they were doing, what they'd seen, and how they felt. I was surprised by how comfortable I was with them being there. I had thought I would miss Zelda more than this. A slight pang of guilt rose up inside me, but I quickly pushed it away. Guilt wouldn't help me now, especially about that. I was probably just too busy to miss her. It wasn't that my feelings about her were diminishing. Or at least I hoped they weren't.

_There's nothing you can do about it if they are. Live your life right now, figure all this stuff out later, _I finally decided, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

**BREAK**

Morning came early for me, much to my surprise. I hadn't woken up before eleven once in the past few days, but it couldn't be any later than seven right now. Maybe I was finally beginning to recover from everything. I rolled out of bed, my legs protesting the movement, and began moving towards the kitchen, hoping to find something good to eat.

When I got there, I found Farore passed out on the table, exactly where I'd left her the night before. I chuckled to myself as I saw the empty mug on the floor next to her. Apparently her taste for ale was insatiable, and she'd never had a better drink than the ones stored in the castle. She was a lightweight, though. She could only handle about two drinks before she started stumbling around, laughing at everything. Of course, she laughed at everything anyways.

It looked like she hadn't even made it from the table last night. She'd simply climbed on top of it and fell asleep. Not like it mattered, though. There was no one here to see her besides me. And I didn't care. I'd done it myself in a few bars.

"Oh, Link." I heard her mutter sleepily as I walked closer. She smiled. "You're up nice and early today. Feeling better?"

"Yeah, I think so." I said with a yawn, digging through the pile of food on the table. Now that I was really thinking about it, I felt great, besides being a little stiff. I just needed some food. And I was considering a drink. It was never too early to drink.

"Good, because I feel absolutely fantastic!" Farore said happily, and rolled off the table. She stretched, then walked over to the food pile and started digging through it with me. I settled with a large slightly stale loaf of bread and sat down.

"Do you never get hangovers? You're so lightweight, I don't know how you don't feel like crap right now." I asked as I munched on the bread.

"I guess not." She said, sitting down next to me. "So, are you feeling up for heading out today? I'd sort of like to get out of this castle. We still need to find out for sure where the people from Castle Town went. And we probably need to go to Kakariko. I think they're safe, but it can't hurt to warn them that an army might be coming."

"Yeah, I guess we can go. I'm counting on that other general having gone to the others and telling them what happened. Otherwise, we're going to have to go through this whole process again. That's if they haven't made it to Kakariko yet. If they have, we're screwed." I said.

"No, they haven't. I would know if they had. I can sense it, in a way. When bunches of people are getting slaughtered at one time, I can sense their distress. It makes me feel sick." Farore looked down at the table. "It…hurts. In the past, I've only been able to watch them suffer from above, unable to do anything. That's different now, though. I'm done sitting there while people are slaughtered senselessly."

"Do Nayru and Din feel the same way about all this?" I asked. It seemed strange that Farore was the only one down here. If it hurt her so bad that she came down here to help, at the cost of her own immortality, wouldn't it have hurt the other two just as bad?

"They're more distant from Hyrule than I ever was. Remember, in the beginning of time, I created all life in Hyrule. I'm more connected to the life here than the other two are. If something were to directly threaten either of their creations, they might be more disturbed by it. I doubt either of them would have actually come down here, though." Farore was getting agitated. It was obvious.

_Things must not have been going well between the three of them. _I thought. Farore sighed. _Damn it, stop thinking stuff like that._

"No, it's fine. You can't help but think. No, things weren't going well between us at all. Mainly between Nayru and I." She said. "I was tired of both of them acting like nothing was ever wrong here. They hardly even noticed when Ganondorf took over. They didn't care at all when Fajfar's armies started marching into Hyrule. The entire time, I was the only one who noticed. Hell, you saved everyone, and they didn't even know your name…" She was visibly upset by now. This obviously meant a lot to her.

"I'm not as concerned with them not knowing my name as I am with the fact that they don't seem to care. Are you telling me that Hylians are worshipping two goddesses who don't really care about them?" I asked.

Farore sighed again, put her arms on the table, and buried her face in them. She took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions. "Yes." She said. "I mean…no…they do, but…Oh hell, I don't know."

"Breathe, Farore. If you'd rather me drop it, I will." I said. I didn't want to make her cry, and she was obviously about to.

"No, you deserve to know." She said, lifting her head back up. Sure enough, her eyes were turning bloodshot. "They care, but for selfish reasons. They think Hyrule is a fun place to come hang out. They don't really care about the people like I do. Hyrule would have to be burnt to the ground before they would notice." She put her head back in her arms and shuddered.

I had to admit, it hurt to hear that two of the goddesses I had worshipped my entire life didn't care that much about Hyrule. What bothered me even more was that they were the only two goddesses left, now that Farore was here.

"Do you think they'll change now that you're gone?" I asked, inquisitively.

"I…hope so." Farore choked out. She was still shuddering and breathing hard, trying not to cry.

_This must have been building up for awhile._ I thought to myself, not really caring whether or not she could hear my thoughts. She probably wasn't even paying attention to them at the moment.

I didn't know how to handle this situation. Was I supposed to try to comfort her? Or would it be better to sit here awkwardly? I decided it would be better to try something.

"Maybe it would take your mind off of it if we got on the road." I said, getting up from the table. I was fishing for ideas at this point. Anything worked, as long as she wasn't upset like this. I made a mental note not to bring it up again.

Farore lifted her head up; there were tears running down her cheeks now. "Yeah, it probably would." She said, and got up from the table, before walking over to me and wrapping me in a hug. "Thank you, I needed to get that off my chest. Sometimes a little bitching is good for me."

"That's all right." I said, hugging her tightly. I knew she needed it "Everyone needs to vent every now and then. Let's get our stuff together and get on the road."

**BREAK**

We were on the road much quicker than I had expected. In what seemed like a stroke of good fortune, we found that the falling debris had knocked down only one side of the stables, and the horses had stayed fairly close to the walls as they grazed their way away from the ruined town.

_6000 dead and every horse survives. Fate has a strange way of doing things… _I thought as I found Farore a suitable one.

After I had saddled up a good-looking mare and called Epona with a whistle, we headed out at a slow lope towards Kakariko. It was about a two days' journey to the 'village' that had turned into a bustling urban area over the past few years. Its population had actually exceeded Castle Town's even before the explosion of a few days before.

Of course, that made it a much better target for the Fajfi army, in the event that they hadn't been warned of the other's fate, or they were too stupid to figure out that they couldn't stand up to the power of the triforce. Every part of me was repulsed at the thought of destroying another army.

"Link, you're scowling a hole in that mountain ahead of us. What's wrong?" Farore's voice broke through my thoughts.

"Oh, sorry." I shook my head to clear it. "Just…thinking about the possibility of having to destroy another army like I did a few days ago. It's unsettling, to say the least."

"I don't think we'll have to. Kakariko's governor wouldn't let an army just march into the village, either. He's bound to have scouts out around here, watching for that kind of thing. Plus, I'm sure he's heard of Castle Town's fate by now, and is being extremely cautious." Farore said.

"I hope so. Otherwise they'll need a new governor who doesn't have his head up his ass. Oh wait, they need a new one anyways…" I said.

"I take it you're not fond of the man?"

"No, not at all. The man is obsessed with himself; he's impossible to talk to for more than about ten seconds. I'd have smashed his head open on a wall by now if the king hadn't forbidden me from doing it." I grumbled.

"Tell me more about this man. I want to know before we get there." Farore said.

I glanced over at her. "You didn't pay attention to the leadership of Hyrule?"

She was caught off-guard by the question, and turned red. "Well, no…I guess…I mean yeah but not him…I was sort of paying attention to…er…other things. Yeah."

_Strange reaction, there._

I laughed. "Alright then, whatever you say. His name is Lord Walter. I tend to call him Lord Chode."

Farore laughed unexpectedly. "You hate him that much, but that's all you could come up with?"

"Well, I had the misfortune of walking into the showers of the governor's mansion while he was there. I was on a diplomatic trip with the king. Basically I was his bodyguard, and I got full privileges of royalty. But, anyways, Lord Walter was in there taking a shower. I noticed one thing above all else."

"He has a chode?"

"No, Farore, you don't understand. This thing isn't just a chode. It could touch all the sides of a tuna can without touching the bottom."

Farore immediately started laughing hysterically for the next few minutes, while I tried my best to keep a completely straight face. It didn't work. Within a few seconds, I was laughing along with her.

"So that's the reason you hate this man? Because his dick is wider than it is long?" Farore panted out between laughs.

"Well, no. Sometimes I wish I'd been a doctor so I could surgically remove the stick he has up his ass. The man thinks the world of himself. _Nothing _he does is wrong in his mind. He's also arguing with the king all the time. He thinks the government should have more power, control more things. He says, and I quote, 'the people are not gifted with the ability to think for themselves. They have not been blessed by the goddesses in the way the nobility of Hyrule has. We must relieve them of their responsibility to vote. They must not make any future governmental decisions.'"

"Hmmm, really now? Because I'm fairly sure I made everyone equal. Too bad I'm not going to tell him who I am. Otherwise I could have a nice, long discussion with him about that." Farore growled.

"How exactly are you going to hide who you are?" I asked. "You're bound to attract attention from the people of Kakariko with those eyes of yours. And practically everything else about you."

"Could I pose as one of those fat noblewomen in a massive dress?" Farore asked with a grin.

I laughed. "I doubt it. We could say you're from a different land, I guess. The people here are used to funny looking creatures. I mean, hell, just look at the Zoras and the Gorons. If we can get used to that, we can get used to the wings."

"No, that's not going to work. They'll ask too many questions. Let's be honest, you could tell something was different about me before I told you who I was. The people of Kakariko will be able to tell, too."

_Yeah, after she flashed that smile I certainly could_… I thought, but caught myself. _Damn it._

Farore grinned. "You're like a pre-pubescent boy, Link. You get embarrassed about everything. Besides, I'd like to hear you finish a thought for once before you cut yourself off. Especially when it's about my smile." She smiled at me, knowing very well what it would do. "Anyways, I guess we'll just have to deny everything when people ask questions. I can't change my appearance. This is how I've looked since the beginning of time."

"And if that doesn't work?" I asked, ignoring the fact that I was blushing. Exactly like a pre-pubescent boy.

"Well, we're screwed. Unless you like the fat noblewomen idea better."

"All right, we'll stop in an hour or so. We got a late start, so we'll have to do most of the traveling tomorrow. Plus, it's going to be cold tonight. We need to prepare." I said.

We rode on in companionable silence for the next hour, finally stopping at a grove of trees off to the side of the road that I had spent many nights in, and began to settle for the night.

**BREAK**

I sat in our camp, staring at the campfire, unable to sleep. Farore was sleeping quietly in the makeshift lean-to I had made for her. The temperature had quickly dipped below freezing after the sun had set, and was still dropping, but I wasn't cold. I didn't feel the heat of the fire, either. My mind was back on the battlefield.

_How would my life have changed had I just stayed in the forest? Would it have been peaceful? Would someone else have stepped up to save Hyrule instead? Or would Ganondorf have won, and in the process destroyed the forest, ending any chance I had at a peaceful life?_

I shuddered, feeling a chill go up my spine at the thought of the Evil King. Never before had I been as terrified as when I ascended the stairs in his tower, preparing to fight him. Even the fight had blurred in my memory slightly. I couldn't remember every detail like before. But one thing I had never forgotten was the climb up to the top. I remembered every single step I had taken. I remembered the organ music growing louder with each door I passed through. I remembered the enemies I had faced, and I remembered when I walked into the room to find Zelda trapped in a pink crystal and the King of Evil across the room.

I had heard of soldiers seeing too much battle and never being the same again. They would remember the battles, having random flashbacks at random times. They wouldn't be able to handle stress for the rest of their lives. Some would even commit suicide. Before the past week, the leading cause of death among the members of the Hylian military had been suicide. Most of the time, it was a soldier who had simply seen too much battle and had decided the memories were too much to handle.

I hoped that this wasn't what was happening to me. All I had been able to think about recently were the battles and fights I had been in. The incident with the Fajfi army had been the icing on the disgusting cake.

Now that I thought about it, it was always when I was alone with my thoughts that this happened. I would sit still for a while, and begin to think. Inevitably, my thoughts would turn to past battles. I would have flashbacks, almost as if I were fighting the battle all over again.

I put my head in my hands, wishing the thoughts away. But I was powerless to stop them. They were like a constant onslaught of memories. It was becoming a nightmare to be alone.

But then again, I was always alone. I had always done everything alone. I had saved Hyrule alone, with only minimal help from the sages. I had cleared every temple alone. I had traveled through time alone. I had climbed Ganondorf's tower alone.

_No, you weren't alone. You had Navi. But she's gone now, back in the forest. This only happened once you were really alone._

I felt a tear run down my cheek at the though of Navi. I had never seen her again after I had travelled back in time for the final time. But even then, I'd moved into the castle, where I'd had Zelda as a companion.

I knew now that I had not ever been truly alone with my thoughts. There was always someone there to distract me from them. It was only when I was completely alone that I felt like this. But I couldn't live the rest of my life in fear of being alone.

_You won't have to live in fear. You'll have Zelda when you finish all of this. If you're with her, you won't ever have to be alone. _I thought, trying to reassure myself, but then followed through with the thought.

_If I stay with Zelda, I'll have to be king. Is that really what I want? Do I want to join the ranks of nobility and rule people, so that I won't be alone with my thoughts? Is that what this is all about?_

It had never truly crossed my mind before that I would have to become a king if I married Zelda. To some degree, the two of us had almost just expected it to happen. We'd grown up together. It had never been said, but the expectation was there.

_But do I really _want_ to be a king?_

I sat for a few minutes, pondering the question and what it really meant, when I finally decided on an answer.

_No, I don't. I don't want that kind of power. That's not the kind of lifestyle I've ever wanted._

Was this some expectation that I'd grown up with but never truly thought about? I didn't know. And when had this become an expectation? There was no doubt that I had feelings for Zelda, and she had feelings for me. But were they genuine? Or had we just grown up expecting a relationship to grow between us because of our shared experiences?

I sat for a few more minutes, letting my mind wander around the topic. I found that every part of me was repulsed at the thought of being a king. Having to go to a daily court would infuriate me. Nobles infuriated me. The thought of having even something as simple as a daily schedule was horrible.

_What will you do? How will you explain something like this to Zelda? You can't have the best of both worlds, so you need to decide what's more important to you. _I told myself.

I nearly jumped out of my skin as a hand rested on my shoulder. Before I thought about it, I had my knife out, ready to kill, only to find Farore staring at me with wide eyes.

"I-I'm sorry…I just…I'm so sorry Farore…I-I didn't mean to do that…" I stammered out, dropping my knife to the ground.

"It's all right Link, I shouldn't have done that." She sat down next to me, wrapping a blanket around my shoulders. I hadn't realized how hard I was shivering. We sat in silence for a few minutes.

"How much did you hear?" I asked her, almost not wanting to know the answer.

"I won't lie, I heard everything. I'm sorry, I should have told you I was awake. You deserve to be able to keep your personal thoughts to yourself." She said, sighing.

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault you can read my mind." I said, wrapping the blanket around myself. Surprisingly, I found that I really didn't mind that she had heard everything. Maybe she could help me. If she couldn't, nobody could.

Farore reached over and grabbed my hands, rubbing them in between hers to warm them up.

"I know what you're going through is difficult, to say the least." She said. "I wish there was something I could do to help you forget about all the horrible things you've had to see. I wish there was some magic I had to make you forget about all the horrible battles you've been in. I don't, but Link, you're the strongest man I've ever seen in the history of Hyrule. In all my thousands of years, I've never seen someone do the things you've done for such selfless reasons. You can't forget these things, but you can overcome them. Don't forget who you are, and the reasons you fight. Don't forget that you're never alone, no matter how much you think you are."

I sighed, trying to find the right words. "Whenever I'm left alone with my thoughts… Well you know already. It's like all the old soldiers who went through war time and time again. They basically go mad. I can't stop the memories. They're so horrible, all of them. I… I just wish I could forget about it all… It would be so much easier."

"You hold these memories so that no one else has to. You fight so that others don't have to. You sacrifice so that others don't have to. Some may not appreciate what you've done, but I do." She said, and then continued. "I'm going to try something. Hold still. I just thought of it, and it may help alleviate some of this."

I decided to trust her and not question her judgment. She put her hands on my head, and a soft blue light glowed from them. I felt warmth spread through my body rapidly, helping to alleviate some of the shivering. After a few minutes, she removed her hands.

"If the memories keep coming back while you're alone, tell me and I'll try something else. But I think this will work." Farore said.

"Should I ask what you did?"

"No, just tell me if it gets better."

"All right." I said. We sat together in silence for a while. After a few minutes, Farore sighed and scooted over closer to me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and laid her head on my shoulder, and I threw the blanket over her shoulders.

_This isn't just for body warmth,_ I thought, the realization not hitting me for a few seconds.

"No, it's not." She said softly, pulling herself even closer to me. It all finally made sense to me.

I was almost afraid to ask her. I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't get the words out. Instead, I cleared my head. _Is this it? I'm what you gave up everything for? You gave up being a goddess so that you could come down here for…me?_

_Yes, _came her voice in my head.

I put my arm around her, and we sat in silence for a while longer. All my thoughts of the battlefield had quickly disappeared, leaving only peace behind. Right now, I found it hard to worry about anything.

**BREAK**

Curt, Zelda, and Jack woke up to find themselves in a forest meadow. They could hear birds singing in the trees around them. The trees themselves seemed to be full of life; each one was a vibrant green.

Curt groaned as he sat up. "Where are we? This isn't what I was always told was behind that door."

Zelda was lying on the soft earth, content to stay there for a while longer. Jack was on the ground next to her, stretching happily. They both felt an inner sense of relief. Stress seemed to have no place in this forest.

"Why are you so worried about it, dad? Just be glad it's not an endless wasteland." Zelda said, looking over at him.

"Yeah, good point." Curt said, lying back in the grass. He closed his eyes and listened to the noises around him.

It took Zelda an hour to realize that something was off. She sat up quickly, finding that Jack and the king had fallen asleep. She looked around, suddenly wondering why they were all sleeping in a forest meadow in the daytime. This wasn't right. They should be moving forward.

_Where is forward, though?_ Zelda thought to herself, looking around the meadow again. As if in response, she felt a sudden urge to walk to a path leading away from the clearing.

"Jack, dad, come on." She said loudly enough to wake them. "We need to start moving forward."

They didn't question her. They had the feeling, too. They simply stood up and followed.

_No, wait. This isn't right. _Zelda thought to herself. Her judgment was being clouded; she couldn't think straight. _Why do I have to move forward? Why is it necessary? And where is The Door? I came in through it, so it should be around here. I can't get back without knowing where it is._

No matter how much she thought, her feet kept moving forward.

_Forward… How do I know that this is forward? I'm lost in the forest with no sense of direction. Why do I feel certain that this direction is forward?_

Still her feet were moving. She was on the path now, moving forward.

For hours, she fought, trying to regain control of her body and mind. It was a hopeless battle, but she fought anyways. When she caught a glimpse of Jack, his face was contorted in rage. He was obviously fighting this same battle.

The king, on the other hand, looked perfectly happy with whatever was going on. He looked around the forest, smiling and laughing. Zelda had never seen him so happy in her life. He had always been good-natured, but this was something entirely different.

Zelda gave up fighting eventually. There seemed to be no danger in this place, so she doubted she was being led into anything that would bring them harm.

Immediately when she gave up fighting the drive to move forward, it released her. She was no longer being drug forward, but pushed gently.

An hour later, the group arrived in a small grove. Zelda sensed that this was where she had been feeling the drive to be for the past few hours of traveling. As they stopped, she looked around, and then up at the clear sky above her, which was turning orange as the sun neared the horizon.

"We should make a camp. The sun's going to be setting soon, and it'll probably get cold, your majesty." Jack said, making eye contact with Zelda. She could tell he wanted to talk to her in private, so she followed him over to the edge of the grove to help him pick up wood.

"What's going on with the king?" He asked her when they were out of his earshot. "I could tell you felt that strange drive leading us here. We were both fighting it the whole way. But the king didn't seem to notice or care. He just smiled and laughed the whole time."

"I don't know. This whole place reeks of bad news to me now that I can think straight again. I don't know why, though. We haven't seen anything that would make us believe there's danger here. As for the king, I really have no idea. He's always been very trusting, and that may have something to do with it. He's been trusting his own impaired judgment without thinking about what's going on." I said, unable to find any other explanation.

"One thing, though." I said as I picked up a log.

"What's that, your majesty?"

"Don't call me your majesty." I said.

Jack looked taken aback. "What would you rather have me call you then?"

"Just Zelda will do fine. I'm not a princess right now. I have no country, and no castle. So just call me Zelda." She smiled at him. "I'd rather have a friend out here than a bodyguard. So let's work on figuring out what this place is once we get a fire going."

"Yeah, Link didn't really give us much to work with when he sent us here. Just told us to go through the door and wait." Jack sighed. "I wish I understood what was going on."

"Yeah, me too." Zelda said. "I'm guessing we should just make ourselves at home here. If Link told us to do something, there had to have been a reason behind it. He's not one to say something without thinking it through first."

"Were…Actually never mind. That's too personal." Jack was hesitant.

"You're a friend out here, not a bodyguard. Ask away."

"Well, I was just wondering. Were you and Link close? It seemed like it, but the two of you were never ones to show if something was going on or not." Jack sounded nervous about asking.

"You could say we were, but not in the way you're thinking. Him and I have been friends since we were very young. We only just recently took it…a little further. In fact, just recently as in the reason I'm alive right now is because we were away from Castle Town on our first actual date. If you could even call it a date." Zelda huffed a little bit after the last sentence.

"I'm guessing the date wasn't a success, then?" Jack looked amused.

"Oh, the date was wonderful. But King Duncan sent a Mageri to assassinate us in the middle of it, which sort of put a damper…well…actually no it didn't. In fact… It was sort of hot. Link beat the shit out of the guy right in front of me, then killed him. He caught his throwing knife out of the air and stuck him with it." Zelda had a glint in her eye that Jack could only call mischievous.

"Sounds like a hell of a way to die. How did an assassination attempt not ruin the date, though? I'm curious. I need to learn whatever Link knows about dating that can turn an assassination attempt into a good date." Jack chuckled.

"Oh, you know, stuff." Zelda murmured. She'd strayed too far off topic, and was getting dangerously close to what followed the assassin's death. She definitely wouldn't be discussing that within a ten-mile radius of her father.

"Mhmm, stuff." Jack chuckled again, giving her a knowing look. "Is that what the kids are calling it nowadays?"

She whacked his arm. "Pervert." She said, but her smile ruined the effect she was going for. Jack simply laughed out loud this time.

"What about you, Jack?" She asked, changing the subject. "Do you have a family? Kids?"

"Well, I did." He said, glancing at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't want to go into a touchy subject if you don't want me to" Zelda said nervously.

"No, it's fine. It's been awhile. I haven't gotten over it, but I've accepted it." He said, more at ease with the topic than I had expected him to be.

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking."

"We were traveling from Kakariko to Castle Town after visiting my wife's father, and we got ambushed by bandits. They killed my wife and son right in front of me in an attempt to avenge the three of them I had killed. That was back when I was a regular soldier. I had never seen battle; otherwise I could have protected my family. That's why I joined the Royal Guard. I promised myself that I would never let that happen again." Jack sighed. Zelda couldn't imagine it was an easy memory to talk about.

"I'm so sorry, Jack. That's awful." She said, knowing that there were no words that could help alleviate that kind of pain. "How did you get away with your life?"

"Link, actually. He came out of nowhere. Shot about five of them down, then charged in with his sword and hacked the rest apart. He helped me bury my wife and son afterwards. The man is a godsend. I've never seen someone fight like that."

Zelda knew what he was talking about. She'd seen Link fight Ganondorf. It had scared her how powerful he actually was. He went into a controlled rage that couldn't be stopped. He would stand up from blows that should have been fatal, shake them off, and keep going.

"When was this? It couldn't have been that long ago." Zelda said.

"Three years." Jack grunted as he lifted the last of the logs.

"How old are you?" Zelda asked, somewhat randomly. She was curious. He looked young, but he'd been married already and was a fairly high rank in the military, which usually came with experience.

"Twenty-two years." He said, and they started back towards the camp that the king was beginning to put together.

"Wow, you married young, didn't you?" Zelda asked. She understood that it was common for the people of Hyrule to marry at around 18 to 20 years of age, but she herself was 24, and had a hard time imagining being married so young.

"Yeah, well sort of." Jack laughed. "I knocked her up when we were both 17, and married her before our parents found out. They suspected, of course, but had no proof. We lived in our own perfect world where we thought nothing could go wrong, and when it did, we rushed to decisions. I wish we'd waited to get married and just put up with the glares from the old women in town. But I'm not one to dwell in the past."

"That's probably a good way to be." Zelda said, carefully setting the stack of logs down and beginning to make a fire pit, then glanced over at her father. He was staring into the trees about thirty feet away. "What the hell is he up to now?" She muttered to herself, and stood up to go find out what was wrong.

"Hey guys," She heard him say as she stood up.

"Yes?" She asked, slightly annoyed at his erratic behavior.

"There's a cabin sitting right behind this line of trees." He said, looking at them and pointing through the tree line. Through it, Zelda could make out the shape of a small cabin in the fading light.

"Well, let's go check it out, I guess." She said, and walked over to her father. Jack came up beside her, a large stick in his hands. His sword hadn't traveled to this forest with him. "I doubt we'll need that, but keep it just in case." She said to him. "Dad, come with us. Don't get too far away."

The king nodded silently, and followed Zelda as she moved into the trees toward the cabin. It was perfectly placed off the road to be out of sight to any passerby without close examination, and looked to be fairly cozy, with a fireplace and even a small porch area. To all eyes, however, it looked to be completely deserted.

Jack stepped ahead of Zelda as she neared the front door. "This is my specialty." He grunted, and placed his hand on the knob, slowly turning it. He pushed it open a crack, and then slammed it shut, jumping back into me.

"Run!" He hissed through his teeth, but was too late. The door opened, and an old woman stepped out onto the porch.

"What is this?" She asked the group, her voice cracking with age. "Visitors? I haven't had visitors in years! Please, come in!" She opened the door wide, then hustled inside, trying to prepare her home.

"Jack, it's just an old woman, what are you so afraid of?" Zelda asked.

"That's my mother-in-law!" He was about to pop a blood vessel. "She disappeared right after my wife and I got married. She's a witch! A serious witch, like with the magic and stuff!" He was speaking as quietly as he could while still making his point.

"I'm assuming she was the obnoxious in-law as well?" Zelda asked, generally amused by this turn of events.

"She was the craziest bitch I've ever me-"

The king pushed past him. "I hope she's got food," He said, not caring to hear the rest of the argument.

Zelda laughed, putting her hand on Jack's shoulder. "Jack, if she's a bad in-law, just deal with it. If she's a witch, I'll deal with it. I'm one of the most powerful magicians in Hyrule. I'm sure I can handle her if she's dangerous." She turned him around and pushed him forward.

"Besides, she's probably going to cook us a nice, warm meal and ask you how you've been. And you might find that she's not so bad." She said, as she pushed him through the doorway

Jack simply grunted unhappily. The old woman looked up from the stew she was cooking to look at the two new visitors, and dropped the stirring spoon in shock.

"Jack? Is that you?" She asked quietly, moving around the small counter to come closer to him.

"Yes." He said gruffly, preparing for an onslaught of curses and blows to the head.

The woman just sat there for a few seconds, too stunned to speak, then burst into tears. She hobbled over to Jack and wrapped her arms around him.

Jack obviously felt awkward. He had made her out to be a horrible person a second ago, and here she was so happy that she couldn't speak, simply because he had walked in the door. He cautiously put his arms around her, trying to reassure himself that this wasn't some horrible trick.

_Goddesses, why have you done this to me? _He thought morbidly.

The woman finally took control of herself, ushering us into the small chairs at the table. "Please, sit down and make yourself comfortable. I'll have some stew out in a minute. I wish I had something more substantial. You two look like you're still growing. You'll need more meat than a stew can offer…" She bustled around the kitchen, pulling out plates and utensils.

_Well we're in for an interesting night._ Zelda thought, and sat back in the cozy chair, waiting to see what way the old woman would make Jack feel awkward next.

**END**

**For those of you disappointed with the turn of events in this chapter, just keep reading. You'll see how much better it is this way.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I got my first negative review, so I'd like to remind everyone that that's alright. I'm open to any opinion in reviews. Granted, it makes my day when I get positive reviews, but the negative ones help me become a better writer as well. The review itself made me laugh my ass off, though. The guy threatened to beat me to death with a rusty spoon.**

**Good luck, LINKANGRYPANTS. You'll need it.**

**Anyways, here's my chapter 9. Enjoy!**

**God bless, and Gig 'Em**

**Vivi**

**START**

Chapter 9

Farore and I woke up late and had to ride hard to Kakariko the next day. We still hadn't talked about last night's events, as minor as the contact may have been. Farore had spent most of the day working on the partial invisibility spell, instead, finally succeeding as the giant stairway to Kakariko appeared on the horizon.

We reached the village with an hour of daylight left, though there was enough light to tell that the village was nearly deserted. As we approached the gates, two guards approached us.

"What's your business here?" One of them asked me.

"I need to speak with Lord Walter on king's business. Where is he?" I asked.

"King's business?" The other guard said. "You got a letter or something to prove it?"

"No. You would do well to let me through immediately." I said, frustrated. These two were obviously new, or they would recognize me.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, young man. We've got war on our doorstep, Castle Town and Hyrule Castle are completely destroyed, and the king is dead. Yet you say you're on king's business. You see why I might see that as fishy?" The first guard said.

I dropped off of Epona and approached the man, contemplating what to do. "Who is your officer on-duty?" I asked, trying to control my anger.

"That's none of your business, either. I would suggest you turn around now. Kakariko is closed for now. No except-" The guard was interrupted by my fist smacking his jaw. He crumpled to the ground, clutching his face and moaning.

The other guard jumped, obviously not expecting what had happened. In a flash, he had drawn his sword. He stabbed it towards me, but I easily sidestepped, grabbed his wrist, and forced the weapon out of his hands. He tried pulling his knife out, but I tackled him to the ground, pinning him there with my knee.

"You will go tell your officer on-duty that Link is here to see him. Whoever it is will know who I am. Hurry." I grabbed his arm and pulled him up. The guard staggered back, and then entered a small door beside the gate.

I looked back to the guard on the ground to see that Farore was using her magic to heal his jaw. His face was covered in blood, and I felt a pang of guilt for hurting him so badly. I hadn't meant to. Fortunately, he was unconscious, and couldn't feel the pain.

Farore looked over at me when she had finished. "You practically broke his face in half. Be careful. You're physically a lot stronger than you were with just one piece of the triforce."

I walked over to the man, pulling out a cloth and soaking it in water from my canteen. I started wiping the blood off of his face before it had a chance to dry. By the time the officer on-duty came out of the door by the gate, I had cleaned up the guard's face fairly well.

"Link!" The officer called as he came out. I turned, finding myself staring into the eyes of Lieutenant Parks, one of the newer officers. I was relieved. I had known Lt. Parks since he had been a lowly corporal, and he was an honest, humble man. He came over to me. "Now that you're done harassing my guards, let's go inside."

Another guard came out the door and picked up the unconscious one. Farore fell in behind me and we all filed into the door. After emerging on the other side of the gate, the Lt. Parks led me to the guardhouse stationed next to the entrance to the Kakariko. When we entered, he sat us down at a table.

"So, Link, why are you beating the crap out of my guards at the gate when we've got an enemy army set to march on us in the next few days?" Lt. Parks asked.

"I need to speak with Lord Walter immediately. My business is my own this time. I'm sorry I can't tell you more." I said, hoping to speed the conversation along.

"I'm sorry, Link, but I can't just let you speak with him unless you have a sealed letter from the king or I deem the reason worthy of his time. Either show me a sealed letter from the king, or tell me what the issue is." Lt. Parks was just as frustrated as I was.

I sighed. "I'm here to check on Kakariko. As you probably know, Castle Town and Hyrule Castle are ruined. Half of its citizens are missing, and the other half is dead. The king is safe, but in hiding, as well as the princess. Kakariko is safe, though. I need to make sure Lord Walter is not going overboard like he normally does."

Lt. Parks looked around the empty room nervously, his eyes resting on Farore. "Before we go on, I must ask who this is with you."

_Help, I didn't think of a cover story for you._ I thought.

"I'm Ellen Glenn." Farore said, "I'm one of the advisors at the castle. I survived the explosion, and Link found me when he arrived. I offered to come here and help, since Link isn't used to diplomacy." She smiled, just for good measure. It worked.

"Oh, excuse me Ms. Glenn. I didn't mean to doubt. You can never be too careful." Lt. Parks said. The smile seemed to have the same effect on him as it did on me.

"That's quite alright Lieutenant." Farore said. "I'd like to inform you that Link received a promotion to Lieutenant before all this mess, so you don't need to clear him. He is an officer of Hyrule's military, and therefore can meet with Lord Walter whenever he deems necessary."

Lt. Parks scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, about that…"

"What is it?" I asked.

"Lord Walter is…well, Link, you put it best. He's going overboard. He's trying to claim rights to the throne after the supposed death of King Nordica and Princess Zelda. The man is completely corrupt. He's paying no attention to the army camped four days' journey south of here. He's only concerned with himself."

"That doesn't surprise me. If this is true, he's committing treason." I said, bluntly. I had feared this, but it came as no shock to me. Lord Walter was only concerned with himself, and it was going to cause the death of everyone in Kakariko.

"That's treason?" Lt. Parks asked, a little surprised.

"Yes, he's furthering his own interests at the expense of the safety of his people. If the king weren't in hiding, he'd have Lord Walter removed from his position and executed." I said, very agitated by this point.

"Where is the king? You said he's in hiding twice, but where could he have gone?" Lt. Parks asked.

"Don't worry about it. He's not in hiding if everyone knows where he is. I need to speak with Lord Walter immediately. Have word sent that I'll be at his mansion in one hour." I said.

Lt. Parks stood up and opened the door to the outside. He murmured something to the guard posted there, and then came back in the room. "Why don't you two go find lodging for the night while you wait for the message to be relayed? I'll stable your horses."

Farore and I stood up and shook his hand. "Thank you, Lieutenant Parks." I said.

"Link." He said quietly, glancing around again. "Good luck. That man is bad news. Be careful."

"I will be."

We exited the building and headed down the street, towards the nearest inn. Farore looked over at me. "I meant what I said about your diplomacy." She grinned. "You're awful at it."

I chuckled, my mind wandering back to my misadventure with Prince Jacob. It seemed like so long ago. "Well, at least I'm consistent. You don't have to worry about whether or not I'm going to have a moment of brilliance when dealing with nobles."

After a few minutes of walking, we came across a clean, if busy, inn. We stepped through the door and I approached the counter, where a haggard looking older man was serving drinks.

"What can I get you?" The innkeeper asked.

"Do you have any rooms available?" I asked. Half of me expected them all to be full, with all the people in here. It seemed that there were enough refugees in here to wage a successful war.

"Aye, I got one. Just one" He grunted, much to my relief. "It's one double bed,. Does that work for you?"

"Yeah, we'll manage. How much?"

"Fifteen rupees."

I pulled out a red rupee and handed it to him, telling him to keep the change. I glanced over at Farore, motioning to the stairs leading up to the rooms.

"Hope you're comfortable with me. All they had was one room." I said as we made our way upstairs.

Farore laughed. "Oh, scandalous. I'll go repent later."

I opened the door to our room, finding it clean and tidy. It was by no means large, but it would be warm and dry. I would have done anything to not sleep in the cold at that point.

"Well, let's teach you some diplomacy while we wait. You're going to need it." Farore said, as she unstrapped the sword on her back and laid it down.

"You won't just let me take a nap?" I grumbled.

Farore smiled, "No, of course not. You would sleep through the meeting. Sit down and listen."

It was set to be the longest hour of my life.

**BREAK**

"You mean to tell me that the king and the princess are both alive?" Lord Walter sounded stunned.

"Yes. Both of them are in hiding at my request until this war is over. They are safe. Back to the matter at hand, though. I've been informed that an army is camped four days' travel south. Is that true?"

"Where are the king and princess? Where is this hiding place?" Lord Walter completely ignored my question.

"With all due respect, I'm keeping that detail quiet. There's no reason for anyone to know where they are." I said, my frustration growing. It was so obvious that this man didn't give a damn for his people.

Lord Walter stood up from his throne, which didn't really make a difference in his height. The man was barely inches over five feet tall. "You will tell me immediately, or I will have you whipped." He growled at me.

_Screw diplomacy, I'm gonna whoop his ass._

_Not yet, _came Farore's voice.

"Have you considered that it's better that you not know, in the event of your capture, my lord?" Farore asked Lord Walter. "They attempted to capture the king, right after an assassination attempt on the princess's bodyguard. Notice that in both situations, they were not attempting to kill the noble in question. That puts you in danger of being captured, in which event it's better that you not know where the king is located."

"And who is this?" Walter asked me. "Not only do you barge into my court after hours interrupt my dinner, and bring a woman in, you allow her to speak?"

_Well this escalated quickly. That took all of thirty seconds for him to piss us both off._

"Lord Walter, in Hyrule women are regarded as equal in every way." I said gruffly, itching to run this man through.

_Oh no he didn't…_ Farore's voice was in my head again. _Alright, it's time to pull out your trump card._

"This is bordering treason, my lord." I said. "Not only are you completely uninterested in the protection of your people, you tirelessly pursue your own interests in the kingship. You are not the king, and he will be informed of this behavior after the war."

Lord Walter paused, staring up at me. He slowly walked towards me, then raised a finger and pointed at me. "Who are you to accuse me of treason? You're a peasant who happened to be knighted, nothing more than a glorified piece of shit. You are nothing. Guards, seize both of them and have them locked in the dungeon to rot. Such insolence will never be tolerated in my court."

_Alright, maybe you're right about diplomacy. _Farore said to me. _Let's get him._

The contingent of guards that had been stationed behind Lord Walter broke rank and moved towards us, somewhat uncertainly. Some of them knew me well, and had seen me fight. They all paused.

"Back off guards. Your ruler has gone too far, now. He is committing treason, as will be the case with those of you who attempt to detain us. You know this. Listen to your consciences." I said loudly. Lord Walter stopped and turned around, turning dark red.

The guards looked uncertain. It was no secret that this man had gone too far, that he was only interested in more power. This was the man that had had guards beaten and whipped, even executed for even minor infractions slipping under their noses. They each had a decision to make, and it didn't take long.

The sergeant at the front of the contingent of guards spoke first. "We're with you, Link."

Lord Walter was purple by now, and I could almost imagine the smoke coming out of his ears. "Blasphemy!" He shouted. "This man is the treasonous snake! Detain him immediately!"

I walked towards Lord Walter, and he began backing away slowly towards the door behind him. When I was halfway to him, he turned and bolted, screaming for help, only to find the door barred by the sergeant who had spoken earlier. "You'll go nowhere." He growled at the lord.

Lord Walter turned around, pulling out the saber he wore at his waist, but still backed away from me.

"Walter, if you're going to pull that saber out, you better be ready to use it." I said, pulling out my sword. I didn't stand around taunting the man. Immediately after pulling out my sword, I lunged at the lord, causing him to jump back and let out an ear-splitting scream.

"Get away from me, you heathen!" He yelled, throwing the saber at me, which I caught easily, and held out in front of me in my right hand, still advancing toward him. After a few more seconds, I had pushed him into the back corner of the room, where he curled up in a ball and began sobbing. He defecated himself on the floor in front of me. This man would not face death honorably. He would die like a coward. I raised my sword, ready to end his life. The man shrieked.

But something staid my hand. As I stood there, ready to hack this corrupt, evil man's head off, something made me stop.

_He deserves to die. _I thought. _Anyone would end his life. He's hell-bent on causing the death of everyone in Kakariko with his greed. _

_But I am not a judge. It is not my place to decide whether or not he should live. No, his fate will be decided after this war. Maybe he has some hope, yet._

Lord Walter was still sobbing on the floor, having given up any hope of life. "Get up." I grunted at him. "Guards, come detain him. Put him in the dungeons, make sure he is fed well and taken care of. He will answer for his crimes later, when the king is here to preside over his trial."

The same sergeant who had spoken and barred the door appeared behind me, wide-eyed and in shock at today's turn of events. "Are you taking over lordship of Kakariko, sir?"

"Gods, no." I said. "I'm merely making sure there's someone in place who will make its defense their first priority, and the king can appoint a new lord when this war is over."

The sergeant nodded, surprised. "You're a good man, Link. Thank you for what you've done for us today." He said as he bound Lord Walter's wrists behind him.

"Sergeant, would there be a better choice for a steward than Lieutenant Parks from the gate guard?" I asked.

The sergeant thought for a second. "No, sir. He is a very honorable man, and has no desire for power. I would follow him with no qualms, as would the rest of Kakariko's guards." He moved forward, wrestling Lord Walter past me and towards the door.

Suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to sink into bed and go to sleep.

**BREAK**

Shortly after Lord Walter's imprisonment, I paid a visit to Lieutenant Parks in the guardhouse, where he was working on a mountain of paperwork. I briefly told him about the past hour's events.

"You amaze me, Link." He said. "You got every single one of his guards to turn on him? That's incredible."

"No, they've seen how he treats people on a daily basis. They had to stand by the man's throne all day, listening to the things he says." Farore said. "It's no wonder they turned on him. In fact, I'm surprised they didn't turn on him sooner."

Lieutenant Parks studied Farore for a second. "Maybe you're right." He said.

"Lieutenant, I was hoping that you would serve as steward of Kakariko while it lacks a lord to rule it." I said, getting to the point. Lieutenant Parks looked up at me skeptically from behind his stacks of papers.

"Why me?" He asked, surprised.

"I have a good feeling about you, and I'm sure as hell not doing it. You have experience, as well. I know you won't crater under the pressure if Kakariko is attacked and you have to quickly organize a defense." I said. I had no other reasons, besides that the man was humble.

"Oh, I don't know about this." He said. "I've led men in battle, but this is dangerously close to politics. I hate politics. I don't think I can handle it."

"You saying that makes me think you can handle it. You're humble and don't want power. That's exactly why you'll make a good steward. Besides, it's only for a little while. Believe me, this war is going to be over quickly, if it isn't already." I said.

Lieutenant Parks sighed, unsure how to handle the situation. He obviously didn't want to, but he knew that Kakariko was in need of someone willing to take care of it. "Alright, I'll trust your judgment. I'm blaming you if this goes terribly wrong. And I know I'm going to regret this until the day I die."

"That's awesome. Now, I'm going to go get some sleep. Far…er…Ellen and I have had a long day." I said. Lt. Parks looked at me strangely."I guess you know who you can talk to about all this in the Lord's Mansion. If someone gives you trouble, I'm going to be here tomorrow."

"Where will you go after that?" He asked.

"I'm headed south. That army won't be a problem for you. Just keep your head pulled out and keep scouts roving at least four days out in every direction. There's three of those armies out there, and I can't guarantee that one of the other two won't attack you." I said. "Now, if you'll excuse us. Good luck, lieutenant."

Farore and I headed out the door. A glance back at Lt. Parks told me that he was entirely confused still. But he would figure it out. He needed to.

Farore and I made it back into the inn without any trouble, and found that some of the business had died down. A small group of burly men were sitting in the corner enjoying some ale, and there was a family of four sitting in another corner playing a board game. Farore and I walked up the stairs and entered our room.

We wasted no time getting ready to go to bed. It had been a long day, and we were both exhausted. I glanced at the double bed, and then began unrolling my mat.

"Don't be ridiculous, Link. You can sleep on the bed. There's enough room for both of us." Farore said, as she crawled under the covers. "It's not like we're doing anything."

"Good point," I grunted, and lay down on the other side of the bed, pulling the covers over myself.

Farore hesitated, as if she were about to ask me something.

"What is it?" I asked, looking over at her in the darkness.

She sighed. "You did the right thing today, when you spared Lord Walter. He deserved death, but you spared him. Most men would have killed the man in a blind rage, but you didn't. You did what was right and just, regardless of what your own personal beliefs were. I'm…impressed, to say the least. You truly do amaze me in new ways every day."

"Maybe I should have killed the man anyways. Out of pity."

"And maybe it was pity that prevented you from killing him." She said.

I sighed. "Maybe so. I've changed in the past week. Since I destroyed that army, I've felt myself changing. Before, I would have never thought twice about running that man through, but I couldn't do it today."

"There's something else on your mind. What is it?" Farore asked. I was surprised that she could read my emotions so well.

"You sure you want to bring this up now?" I asked, although I knew the answer already.

Farore nodded. "I guess I owe you a better explanation than you got last night." She had been thinking about it, too. "That I gave up immortality for you is only half true. Hyrule was still in danger. I still would have come down to help whether or not you had existed. But, on the flip side, I would have come down here for you whether or not Hyrule had been in danger."

"How did I even get your attention? It seems like a goddess wouldn't…well you know, it's just strange to me." I said.

"Yeah, I know it's sort of weird. I don't know how it happened. I began paying attention to you the moment you came out of the Great Deku Tree with that stone. From then on, I watched you. During the seven years you were out, I watched over you. I protected you from Ganondorf, and gave the Triforce of Courage to you when the King of Evil tried to take all three pieces. Somewhere during that time, I guess I became sort of attached to you. I know that sounds really creepy and weird, but bear with me."

"It's fine." I said. "It's gonna take more than that to freak me out."

"Then, when you finally woke up from your long nap and began your journey, you showed so much more courage than I had expected. Everything you did, you did for others. You're so selfless, so brave, and you're pretty damn attractive, too." Farore said, smiling.

I was glad it was dark so she couldn't see me turn red.

"I… Well, I don't exactly know when I decided that I would be leaving the heavens for you. It was over time, as I watched you, I guess. Time after time, you helped all who needed you. You're a hero, not just because you saved Hyrule from Ganon, not just because you're saving it again, but also because you do it for such selfless reasons. Each and every person in Hyrule knows your name for one reason or another, yet it's never gotten to your head. You've never wanted power or fame. You've always emerged as the reluctant hero, and then disappeared into the darkness again." Farore said.

"And that's attractive to you?" I asked. This whole situation was confusing to me. I usually avoided deep conversations like this with women, because I always ended up confused. Their logic didn't make sense to me at all most of the time.

"I guess so, because here I am. I wish I'd come sooner, though. Before…well never mind. I do wish I'd come down about four years earlier, though. I was waiting for you to grow up and become a man." She said.

"You wish you'd come down before I started anything with Zelda?" I asked, knowing that this would have to come up sometime.

Farore hesitated. "There's no good way to put that, I guess. Yes, that's what I wish. But I was afraid. I needed a boost, which came in the form of Hyrule Castle being blown apart."

We were quiet for a few minutes; both of us were lost in thought. I had a lot to think about. Up until 24 hours before, I had been convinced that I would live a happy life with Zelda as my wife. But now, I wasn't so sure. I couldn't lie to myself- I was attracted to Farore. A lot. She was nearly perfect in every way to me. But it was a major change in lifestyle, and a major change of plans. Plus, I had only known her for slightly over a week.

_Is this what I want? Is this what will make me happy? _The thought had crossed my mind last night, too, when I had contemplated marrying Zelda and being king. Last night, I had realized that being king was not what I wanted. Maybe even Zelda wasn't what I wanted. But I let my mind drift back to the thought at hand. Would I be happy with Farore at my side? I hadn't known her for long, but I knew the answer already.

"Link?" Farore asked, quietly, and turned on her side to face me. She sounded nervous.

"Yes?"

"Would you…Would it ever happen? Between us, I mean." She asked, sounding like she was about to pass out. "I know you just met me a week ago and you have or had a girlfriend or whatever and she's royalty and stuff but I-"

I rolled over on my side and put my finger on her lips. "Yes, Farore, it very well could." I said softly.

She visibly relaxed, and a smile of relief spread across her face. I hadn't seen her look this happy since I met her. "It'll take time." I told her. "We're in a war that I have to stop. We still need to spend time with each other. You know me ten times better than I know you, and I'd like to fix that."

_And I have to figure out how I'm going to handle this when Zelda is back. I have to cut it off with her. If being king isn't what I want, it's the least I can do for her. Even if she won't like it, it has to be done. I can't lead her on. _I thought. I stopped myself too late.

Instead of being bent out of shape like I expected her to be after my thoughts of Zelda, she scooted closer to me, wrapping her arms around my waist as we lay facing each other. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and pulled her close, embracing her.

This felt right. Nothing could compare to this.

_Should I kiss her? _I thought to myself, but almost smacked my palm to my face in frustration. I had done it again.

"You most certainly should." Farore said softly, then pulled back from my embrace and looked me in the eyes.

_Damn it, I have GOT to stop letting those thoughts slip._

I leaned forward, kissing her for the first time. She pulled close to me again, wrapping herself around me, as close as she could. After a minute, we both pulled away from the kiss, and fell asleep in each other's arms.

**BREAK**

Zelda awoke to the sounds of nature outside her window and stretched, groaning loudly. She opened her eyes to find herself still in the cabin they had found last night. She reminisced on the previous night's events.

Jack's mother-in-law had ended up being one of the nicest old women Zelda had ever met. Her name was Victoria. After dinner, she had started a fire and begged them to tell her about Hyrule since she had left. The group had left out the part about Castle Town and Hyrule Castle being demolished when they told her some current events. There was no reason to worry her with events she couldn't change.

It turned out that Victoria had actually been on her way to look at a house in Castle Town for her daughter and Jack. She had admitted that she had treated him poorly, and was trying to make it up to him. She had felt that Castle Town was the safest place to raise a family.

_Turns out she was wrong. _Zelda had thought.

On the way, Victoria had been ambushed by a group of bandits known as the Black Raiders. She had given them all the money she had, but that hadn't satisfied their lust for blood. They had cut the throats of her guard right in front of her, but were distracted while doing so. She had bolted towards the nearby tree line, but had heard the leader of the group call out for the archer. Her world turned black a moment later, and she woke up in this forest shortly afterwards. She had assumed she was dead, and that this was her personal purgatory.

The most emotional part of the night had been when she asked Jack how her daughter was doing, and if she had a grandchild. He had hung his head low and told her what happened. Victoria had cried for a long time, to say the least. It was one hell of a way to find out that her daughter had died.

Finally, late at night, the four of them had gone to bed. Victoria had two guest bedrooms. Jack and the king had shared one, and Zelda had taken the other. Now, here she was, waking up partway through the morning, and feeling extremely content on the soft mattress.

After spending a good half hour in bed, she finally decided to roll out of it and make herself look presentable. As she went over to the mirror, there was a knock at the door. "Who is it?" She called.

"It's Jack." Came his distinct voice from behind the door. Zelda quickly put some clothing on and let him in.

"What's going on?" She asked him, as she worked the tangles out of her hair with a small ivory comb Victoria had given her the night before

"Victoria came to me early in the morning. She left." He said. "She said that she knew now why she was here. Apparently it was all so that she could clear the air with me. She said that she has direction now, and set off into the forest."

Zelda sighed. That confirmed her thoughts about this place. "Are you alright?" She asked Jack.

"Confused, sort of sad, but alright. I think she's probably in a better place now, but I'm concerned about this all. She was certain that she was dead, but we're certain that we're alive. How are we able to communicate with the dead? What kind of place is this?" He said.

"I have my theories. In some way, you could think of this as a purgatory of some sort. In another, you could think of it as a different dimension between Hyrule and the afterlife. It's a place where death has no place. There is absolutely nothing dead here. No dead grass, no dead wood, no predators around to kill something. We are not in our actual bodies. These are our spirits, and our bodies are locked away somewhere. That's how we were able to communicate with Victoria, and it would explain why she left. Her spirit was waiting on you. Once she had made amends with you, she was free to pass on to whatever afterlife awaited her." Zelda said. "At least, that's my theory."

Jack simply stared at her, his mouth open slightly, then stood up and looked out the window. "Goddesses, you're right. There's no dead grass or anything. But I feel real enough, at least to myself. How the hell do you think of this stuff?"

Zelda smiled. "Cause I'm smart. Come here and leave your masculinity over there. I need you to get a tangle out of the back of my hair."

Jack muttered something, but did as she asked, and had the tangle out in a few seconds.

"Hm, you've had experience with hair, I see." Zelda said, genuinely amused.

"Well I was married." Jack laughed. "And I had three sisters. I've dealt with some hair in my time."

"Three?" Zelda asked, shocked. "That's too many, I bet you were playing dress-up constantly."

"Yes, three. I only had one older brother. I was the youngest. We all grew up in Kakariko with my mom. Needless to say, my brother and I were playing with dolls and frequenting fake tea parties whether we liked it or not." He said.

"Where was your father? If you don't mind me asking." Zelda asked.

"It's fine, Zelda. You can ask me anything." Jack said. "He was a soldier. He was killed defending my family from a group of bandits. He took down over twenty of them on his own, but was mortally wounded by their archer. My brother and I took the man down. Specifically, I did. The archer shot my brother in the knee when we charged him, then missed me."

_He certainly turned out all right for what's happened to him. _Zelda thought to herself.

"How old were you?" Zelda asked.

"Fourteen." He said. "It was the first time I ever killed anyone. I was too young. It was the scariest experience of my life, and it haunted me for years."

"You certainly don't seem like a dark, brooding man who experienced a childhood trauma like that. You turned out quite well. You're different from others. Most people would have cratered and never recovered after experiencing that at fourteen years old." Zelda said.

"Oh, I did." Jack said, nonchalantly. "I went through all that shit as a teenager. I was definitely dark and brooding. I was antisocial, hated life, that kind of stuff. I tried to commit suicide by jumping off a massive waterfall, but all that did was give me a good soaking. After that, I joined the military, and that fixed every one of my problems."

Zelda was stunned. This man standing in front of her certainly had quite a story, and she had only heard a quick summary. She had never heard of someone coming out of a childhood like that completely sane. Yet here this man stood, completely accepting of his past, seemingly undisturbed by it. "How did you come back from that, Jack?" She asked. "That's so much tragedy in such a short time. How did you do it?"

Jack looked around awkwardly. He hadn't expected that. "Well, I turned to religion. That's where I found peace after the death of my wife. The goddesses helped me, or at least having something to believe in did. When Link told you that Farore had told him to send us down here, you have no idea how ecstatic I was. I didn't question him because I was so excited that he had seen one of the goddesses. It let me know that my faith was well founded."

Zelda thought back to her parting with Link. She had been overwhelmed, but had done exactly as he had told her. Now she was stuck here, with no way back, and no idea of where she should be going. She wished he'd given her more details before sending them off.

Regardless of her frustration with their parting, Zelda was still worried about Link. Triforce or not, he was still alone, facing the entire Fajfi military. He would have to kill King Duncan before this would be over, which would mean breaking into his castle. Or blowing it to pieces, if he could handle the triforce correctly. Fajfar would definitely not fall easily.

_And then what would happen between the two of us?_ Zelda wondered. _What if he dies? What if we're stuck here and he can't get us? _

She stopped herself. She would not be the damsel in distress again. For better or worse, she would have to take care of herself and those around her. She couldn't rely on Link to be the hero every time something came up.

Jack had gone back to the window, and was looking outside. He turned around to face her. "How about a walk?" He asked. "It seems like it's always nice outside here, we might as well enjoy it."

Zelda got up from the chair she had been sitting on. "Sure, why not? Let me get my shoes on.

**BREAK**

I awoke to find Farore still wrapped in my arms. My left arm was thoroughly asleep by now, but I didn't want to interrupt this moment. I closed my eyes and laid my head back on the pillow, and opened them again to find that Farore was waking up.

She smiled as she saw me, then leaned forward and kissed me. "Good morning, sunshine." She said.

I grunted, slightly amused. "If you'll excuse me, my arm feels like it's about to fall off." I said, chuckling. Farore rolled backwards, off my arm, a got up off the bed.

"So, what's on the agenda today, hero?" She asked as I walked over to the basin of water and mirror in the corner to shave.

"Well, we could try to have some fun before we head out tomorrow morning. Kakariko is bound to have something to do to pass time. We could check with the innkeeper on the way out. He might know something." I said, pulling out my razor from my boot.

Farore was about to speak, and then stopped, falling silent. I turned and looked at her to find out what was wrong, in time to see her run to the window.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, puzzled. She wouldn't be acting like this for nothing.

"There's something wrong. I can't tell what it is, but we need to get ready and get outside quickly." She said, then started pulling her traveling clothes on and strapping her sword to her back.

I glanced at my razor, wishing I could shave, but put it away and pulled on my boots. I quickly strapped my sword and shield onto my back, and pulled my tunic on. The two of us rushed downstairs.

Outside, all was peaceful. The sun was rising, and we could see its orange glow in the east. Farore and I looked around for a few minutes, and then casually walked closer to the center of town. Still there was nothing but silence.

The silence was broken by a short scream to the south, which was quickly cut off. Farore and I began sprinting towards the source of the sound. Suddenly, we heard children screaming. I nearly doubled my pace. I would not let a child be harmed.

As we rounded the corner of a house, swords drawn, we almost ran into two young boys, running for their lives, covered in blood. I dropped to a knee and scooped one up, Farore grabbing the other. I pulled the child into a corner and set him down, trying to calm him. Farore put the other down next to him, and then kneeled down to get on his eye level.

"You can trust us, we're here to help. What happened?" She asked the boy, putting a hand on his shoulder. He was in shock now, his eyes wide. The boy I had carried was still sobbing. "What are your names?" Farore asked.

The boy who was in shock slowly looked at Farore and started shivering, then managed to choke out some words. "They're dead." He said quietly.

"Who's dead?" Farore asked.

"Mom and Dad."

I heard a whistling through the air, and jumped in front of the children, bowling them and Farore into the ground. A throwing knife stuck in the wall where my head had been a second before. I glanced at it, and my stomach nearly dropped out of my body. I recognized the hilt design.

_Mageri_

Farore needed no other warning. She picked up the two boys, and hightailed it towards the center of the town, towards one of the watchtowers. She would sound the alarm. I just needed to hold the assassins back.

I pulled out my sword. I couldn't see the Mageri, but I knew they were there, watching my every move. All I had to do was watch for movement, and I picked out four of them hiding in a nearby alley. Suddenly, they were everywhere in front of me, almost as if they had materialized out of nowhere.

Immediately, I tapped into the triforce, calling forth its power. My hand glowed, and many of the Mageri dropped to the ground, clutching their hearts. More appeared all around me, forcing me back down the street Farore had run away with. The assassins were dropping onto the street in plain sight now. I kept tapping into the triforce, and more Mageri died every time, but more kept coming. It was like an endless wave of the assassins.

Behind me, I heard the alarm bell go off, and the Mageri hesitated. They were out of their element when they were discovered. They couldn't fight large groups of soldiers. I used their hesitation against them, unleashing a golden beam of energy that ripped through their ranks with incredible force.

Through the commotion of the Mageri attack, I heard the gate watchtower's bell ringing, and a war horn blasted three long notes. That alarm was not a warning for these Mageri. There was something approaching the gates that had caused the guards to blow that horn.

Then, off in the distance, I heard an ear-splitting battle cry. I looked forward to the Mageri to see them running away from me. They had simply been a distraction for me.

War had found Kakariko.

**END**

**My heart goes out to the victims of the elementary school shooting in Newton, Connecticut. Such an act is beyond any kind of explanation or reason. My prayers go to the families of those who died. I hope that with God, they can find some sort of solace. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you to all of those who have been reviewing. Erico637, your review was much appreciated. I had forgotten about the pairing, and when I changed the direction this story was going in, it stayed put. It's fixed now. Also, your other advice has been noted, and that was part of the original intentions. Just wait and see. There will be hints of it in this chapter.**

**Since I'm hopelessly geeky and single, reviews make my life complete. So review.**

**A note about the story so far. I'm probably going to be rewriting the first few chapters. I decided Link and Zelda should have been in a more serious relationship at the start of the story. After reading it, it seems lacking in depth, and Link's change of heart in regard to his future with the princess is sort of not a big deal since they dated all of one week. Someone review and tell me if that would make the story better or not. Just say yes or no, it doesn't have to be long and in depth if you don't want to take the time.**

**Vivi**

**START**

Chapter 10

I glanced back down the street to make sure that the Mageri were gone, and then sprinted off towards Farore. I couldn't face what was to come next without her by my side. And I needed to make sure she was safe, along with the children.

As I made it to the watchtower she had been at, I saw her handing off the two boys to an older woman who had come outside. Farore looked around, and came over to me when she saw me. "Did you get rid of those guys?" She asked calmly.

"Yeah, I think so. I think they were just trying to distract me away from the front gate so that the army could make it into the city. I can't blow them to pieces if they're in here. Or it was just a freak mistake that we found them." I panted, trying to catch my breath. "We need to get down there now. I can't do anything if they breach that gate."

Farore nodded, giving me a slightly strange look, but then took off running towards the main gate. It would only take fifteen minutes to get there, but time was of the essence. We couldn't stand around and waste time. I took off running after her, not wanting her to get too far ahead. I was still panting, but I could push through it and get to the gate.

All around me, guards were running to the gate, slinging on armor as they ran. On-duty guards were called to abandon their posts, and I could hear the war horns calling up Kakariko's actual military. Even the volunteers in the militia were coming out of their homes.

_There must be a giant force outside if Lt. Parks is mobilizing everyone, _I thought. Shaking the dread from my mind, I pushed forward. I needed to reach that gate as soon as I could. I couldn't believe they had actually come to attack Kakariko after what I had done to the other army. It didn't make sense, unless the general had never visited the other armies.

"Don't think about that, Link." Farore called over her shoulder to me. "You won't do yourself any good."

I said nothing, knowing she was right. I couldn't shake the dread, though. Sometimes in war, freak accidents happened. Oftentimes, it wouldn't matter how efficient a man was with his sword. I hoped that it wouldn't come down to that with me. If I were going to die, I wanted it to be on the sword of one that was a more efficient fighter than me. I didn't want to die with arrows in my chest, bleeding out on the ground, screaming in pain. And I especially didn't want to be killed by magic.

The one thing that comforted me was the Triforce. With it, I would be extremely difficult to kill. Running a sword through me wouldn't be enough to harm me, nor would even the largest arrow. The Triforce made me insanely difficult to kill. I figured it wasn't exactly fair to enemies.

_All's fair in love and war, _I thought with a shrug, when I finally noticed how badly I was panting. Farore and I were almost to the gate, but running even the few miles there shouldn't have winded me like this. My chest burned, and I had a stitch in my side that refused to go away. This was definitely not normal. I was in good enough shape to run an entire marathon without trouble, much less a few miles.

When Farore and I rounded a corner and the gates came into view, all I could see was a sea of guards and militia, with soldiers headed down from the barracks. It was fortunate that Kakariko had kept a standing army. They would have been in deep trouble otherwise.

I followed Farore as she pushed her way to the gate. When we finally reached it, we climbed the ladder to the top, where the officers stood, including Lt. Parks. I doubled over panting, completely exhausted. I felt like I had fallen off of a horse. This was definitely not normal. I was getting extremely worried.

Farore had noticed by now. She gave me a worried look, and rubbed her hand on my back. "What's going on? You're in much better shape than I am. That run shouldn't have bothered you."

"I don't know." I said as I leaned on a nearby wall, catching my breath. "Something's wrong, but I don't know what it is. Maybe I'm sick."

Farore glanced over the gate's upper wall. It wouldn't do anything. The stairway angled to the right. We wouldn't be able to see the army until it was practically on top of us. A scout was sprinting up from the end of the stairs, coming back to give a report. Farore looked back at me. "Did you use the Triforce on the Mageri?"

I nodded. "Yeah, a little bit. I killed some of them with it, but it was mainly to scare them off. It wasn't enough to do this."

Farore cursed under her breath. "Yes it is. You still haven't completely recovered from last week's attack. I should have made you sleep more." She cursed again, louder this time. Several of the officers around her were impressed. She would be teaching them new words if she kept going.

"I'll manage." I grunted as I stood up, clutching my ribs and wishing the stitch away. I could hear the scout yelling up to Lt. Parks.

"-wizards and about five thousand men headed this direction. We have thirty minutes before they reach us, sir!" The man called up. I lifted my head up, having finally caught my breath. This was new. Fajfar wasn't well known for their wizards. I prayed that they weren't more of the demons.

"Farore." I said, catching her attention. "What did he say about wizards?"

"About thirty of them. Nothing I can't handle, unless they're demons. In that event, we'll both have to hold them off. Are you feeling better?" She asked worriedly as she walked over to me. She came close to me and grabbed my hand. "Don't push yourself past your limits. You won't do any good if you pass out."

I chuckled, feeling the adrenaline begin to hit me. "Limits are for the weak."

Farore grinned at my defiance. "Alright, cowboy. Let's see what you've got. The mages are riding in front, according to the scout. No doubt they're going to try to blow the gates down and let the army in. After that, they'll wreak havoc on the soldiers. We need to go to the bottom of the stairs and stop them. Can you run two hundred more meters?"

"Yeah." I said, feeling much better now that the inevitability of battle was pushing tons of adrenaline through me. I sheathed my sword, then dropped down the ladder, heading for the small door to the side of the gate. Farore ran to Lt. Parks, briefly told him what we were doing, and then followed me down. I could see by the lieutenant's face that he didn't approve of this idea.

Mage battles didn't happen often in battles. There were so few people who could use basic magic; much less the powerful magic required for war, that it wasn't a common event to have two skilled mages meet during battle. The few times it had happened in history had left large areas of land blackened and destroyed, and both mages usually died.

"Farore?" I called back over my shoulder as we descended the stairs. "What exactly am I supposed to be doing when we're down there?"

"Just stand there and growl menacingly at anything that comes near me. I'll take care of the mages, but if they try fire arrows at me or something, you can do what you do best." She said, as we reached the bottom of the stairs. I gazed out in front of me.

Lined up on Hyrule field, slowly marching towards Kakariko, was a force of about five thousand, just as the scout had said. Far in front of them, riding quickly over the bridge across the river, was a force of about thirty men and women in dark robes. These were no demons, but they unnerved me nonetheless. They all looked as if they hadn't seen the sun for years, and their robes had strange marks on them. They would be within range in less than a minute.

"I hope you're ready, these don't look like your average hedge wizards." I muttered to Farore.

"Born ready." She said, and then stopped. "Oh, wait. Just kidding. I wasn't born at all."

I would have chuckled, but the rock wall above me suddenly exploded. Quickly, Farore raised her hands above her head, a green light glowing in between them. The flying pieces of rock stopped in midair, and then catapulted towards the Fajfi wizards, who had jumped off their horses and were standing in a line facing us about a hundred meters away. They all raised their hands in unison, red light glowing above their heads, and the pieces of rock dropped to the ground.

The men and women began chanting in unison, and I understood what they were doing. A single one of these wizards probably couldn't do much damage, but they posed a large threat when they combined their powers.

Farore didn't chant, she simply stood, waiting for the next attack. I wasn't surprised. Every mage I had ever met besides Zelda had to chant while they were spell casting, but Farore was a former goddess. She could probably raze the entire army before me without blinking an eye. Or so I thought.

When the mages were done, a massive tornado of fire appeared above them, much like the one I had created a week before in front of the army at Castle Town. The flaming tornado quickly made its way towards us, but dissipated when it had crossed half the distance. The mages were already chanting, and Farore waited patiently again.

The next attack came in the form of thousands of small icicles flying towards us. I quickly stepped in front of Farore with my shield raised, hoping to protect her with the shield and my body. Once again, though, the spell only made it halfway to us before the icicles dropped to the ground harmlessly.

Attack after attack came, but to no avail. The wizards simply weren't powerful enough. One collapsed onto the ground, unconscious, after they had conjured a particularly powerful beam of light that had been deflected back towards the now halted army. The beam had missed the forces by a distance that was too close for their comfort.

Farore seemed content to wait until the wizards tired themselves out before attacking. She was sweating lightly, but I didn't distract her to ask if she was all right. She would have told me if she needed help. Now, she changed her stance; uncrossing her arms and stepping out from the foot of the stairs. Slowly, she walked towards the faltering line of mages. From a hundred meters away, I could see them begin to panic.

The army behind them was going insane by now. I could see men on the front line beginning to step back. They were being quickly demoralized. Their officers were shouting commands, trying to maintain order.

Another of the mages dropped, followed by another. Twenty-seven now stood, all of which were exhausted. They had spent a mere ten minutes bombarding us with attacks, and would have no doubt been able to destroy Kakariko in that time, but were now faced with an opponent who was showing no signs of fatigue, even under their combined power.

Farore stopped when she had crossed half the distance to the wizards, raising her hands, which emitted the same green light as before. The army went crazy in the background. Men began running backwards through the ranks, officers even ran a few through with their swords, as that was the punishment for desertion in Fajfar's law books.

Farore glanced at the wizards, and then waved her hands in front of her. The remainder of the men and women left standing chanted in unison quickly, raising a barrier just in time as a magical wind exploded around them. The wind was so powerful, that I could see its areas of higher pressure swirling around the line of mages, threatening to throw them sky-high and slice them in half.

The wind blew for what seemed like an impossibly long time. I was amazed. Not even the most powerful mages of the world could keep a spell this powerful going for an extended period of time. More mages began to drop. They passed out more rapidly as the others went. The barrier was too difficult to maintain when half the mages were unconscious, and began to falter.

As the standing mages saw their faltering barrier, they panicked, and began chanting again. Once again, the rock wall above me exploded, raining down huge chunks on top of me. They were trying to kill me or distract Farore in a last desperate attempt. Unfortunately, it worked.

Farore quickly turned around, then threw her hands up, throwing the rocks up in the air and away from me even as I leaped out of the danger. The momentary distraction had been all the mages needed, however. Chanting quickly, they fired a massive ball of fire at Farore, who turned around only a moment before it hit her.

I yelled in panic, and then began sprinting toward her. The fire had wrapped around her. I could see her shadow in the middle of it, still standing, but I still ran as fast as I could, fully intent on jumping into the flames to get her out.

_Don't you dare come in here, Link, you'll only get yourself killed. _Farore's voice sounded in my head. _I'll be fine. They can't hurt me with this, all they can do is block my view of them and feel good about themselves. I can't see them, but they're probably trying to maintain the spell. Do me a favor and fire an arrow or two at them. It'll speed this process along._

I stopped running, immensely relieved. The army behind the mages had settled down, and I could hear the soldiers cheering. Pulling out my bow, I fired an arrow at one of the standing mages. The barrier, having faltered, wasn't there to protect the man as the arrow sunk into his chest, impaling his heart. He was dead before he hit the ground.

The other mages, realizing their mistake, attempted to put up another barrier, but not before I put two more arrows into their line. The extra effort took its toll, knocking three more unconscious. Now only nine stood, and the ball of fire around Farore faltered. She dispelled the magic quickly, and didn't look any worse for the wear after having been engulfed in flames.

The nine remaining mages were silent, focusing all of their energy into the barrier around them. They seemed to realize the hopelessness of the situation, and dropped it, simultaneously dropping to their knees. "We yield. You are clearly our superior." I heard the man in the center say. All nine of them were covered in sweat, and looked as if they were about to throw up.

I stood back as Farore studied them, and then began walking towards the man who spoke. "Are you the leader of this group?" She asked calmly.

"Yes," he replied, bowing his head.

"Where are you from?" Farore asked. "Fajfar has not been known to produce wizards of any skill, but the thirty of you put up a good fight."

"We have been trained in secret under King Duncan's orders. He has been preparing for this assault for years, and we were trained specifically for this attack." The man said, his head still bowed. He was exhausted. He would likely sleep well tonight. If he slept at all.

"That's good to know." Farore said suddenly, and then did something unexpected. "Look at me." She said to him.

The man looked up at her with tired eyes, and then nearly jumped out of his skin as she drew her knife. He recoiled back, but she pulled him back with magic. All he could do was stare at the cold blade of the knife as she pressed it to his throat.

"You would have killed me, Link, and everyone in Kakariko without a second thought. You would have destroyed Hyrule without mercy. You will not be spared, along with the rest of your pathetic group of hedge-wizards." She said. The man seemed to accept her words, and closed his eyes, a single tear running down his cheek.

"I would not have killed without regret." He said simply, then, "Do it. I deserve it."

Farore was not moved. She pulled the knife back behind herself, readying a powerful thrust aimed at the man's heart. As she began to move forward, however, I caught her arm. She jumped, not expecting that, and turned around quickly. She hadn't heard me move up behind her, and her initial reaction was to fight off whoever had grabbed her.

As she turned around, she slashed the knife at my face, and I caught her wrist. I stared in her eyes, seeing the cloud of war and adrenaline burning in them. She stared at me for a second, and then dropped the knife, a look of panic crossing her face. "Link! I'm sorry, I-"

"Farore, don't do this." I said to her softly. She stared at me again, and I looked deep into her eyes. Even this few minutes of battle had cluttered her mind. She wasn't thinking straight. She looked down at the ground and began to cry quietly.

I let her go and walked over to the mage who had spoken. He was still kneeling on the ground, and looked completely and utterly shocked. He had given himself up for dead, and had now been saved by this stranger who, only a few minutes before, he had attempted to kill.

"Mage, we're taking you and your mages captive, as I'm sure you expected." I said to him. "Go call off that army standing back there before they kill the entire front line for desertion. If they attack, they'll be slaughtered now that the gates will stand. Then you will come back and allow yourself to be taken prisoner. The rest of your mages will stay here."

The man nodded, and I helped him to his feet. I doubted that he would simply leave his fellow mages to be imprisoned. He would most likely do as I said, even if the commanding officer didn't listen to him and attacked us anyway.

As he was turning around, though, the mage stopped. He looked back at me. "Could I send a signal from afar? They'll kill me if I go back. That's the price of failure in Fajfar. That army will be headed this way either way, simply because they will all be executed if they come back. Forgive me if I sound like a coward, but I have no urge to walk into certain death. If I'm going to die, I don't want it to be like this."

"Do what you need to, magician." I said to him. I sympathized with the man, even though he was the enemy. Defeat was a part of life sometimes. There was no reason to die for it. I saw now why the officers of the army in the field before me refused to turn back. It was either almost certain death on the battlefield, or certain death on the end of an executioner's sword. Almost certain death was better than certain death in that scenario.

But this was an army run on fear. Had Hyrule's military not disappeared with the explosion a week before, they would have been able to easily cut down this small force. An army fueled by fear and invading a foreign land wouldn't fight near as hard as an army whose home is being threatened and who fights for a cause.

The mage turned around, lifted his hand, and chanted quickly. I gripped my sword's hilt, in case he tried anything, but was relieved when he simply sent an orb of pure white light into the air. It was the signal of defeat. I could almost see the men in the remaining ranks deflate. They knew that this fight was hopeless.

The mage turned around, a sad smile on his face. "It's over." He mumbled. "What should I do now?"

"Tend to your mages who are unconscious. I'll trust on your honor that you won't try anything…funny. What's your name, mage?" I asked.

"We won't try anything. We may be mages, but we still have honor, even in defeat. My name is Paul. What's yours?"

"I'm Link." I shook his hand. I harbored no hatred for this enemy, nor did he for me. We were simply two men who had the misfortune of being tasked with killing each other. "Take what time you need. I'm sorry I had to kill three of your mages, but war is war."

"No apologies necessary." He said. "This is war. Death is the sad reality behind it. You showed us mercy in defeat, and that's what matters. If I may ask, who is that girl behind you who defeated us so easily? I've never even heard legends of a sorceress so powerful."

I looked back at Farore, who had walked back to the stairs and laid her head in her hands. I couldn't hear her, but I could tell that she was crying. This must have been extremely traumatic for her. She had watched men and women die from above before, but never before had she been in battle. I could remember my first battle, even now, years later. It was something that never left a person.

"She's…" I trailed off, not knowing a good cover-up for his question. I couldn't exactly tell him her true identity. "She's someone that we as a country hoped would never have to go into battle. I've never seen anyone who is so adept with magic." I hadn't lied.

"What's her name?" Paul asked.

"Uh…Ellen." I said, catching myself before I said her true name. Paul nodded, then turned toward me.

"We will quickly make sure that those of us who fell are taken care of. Afterwards, do what you will. I have no bargaining powers now. Be careful of that army back there. I have no doubt that once the chaos has died down, they'll attack. The only other choice is certain death when they go back home." He said.

"Take what time you need. We take care of our prisoners of war here, so don't worry about repercussions. At least for now. I'm going to go find that army's commanding officer and see what…" I trailed off, seeing a small group detach from the front of the army before me. "Never mind, looks like he's coming to find me. Get your mages back to the stairs, in case they try to execute them here."

Paul started shouting orders at the group. A few of the mages had woken up, and staggered to their feet. The rest of them moved to those who couldn't walk and began to carry and drag them away.

With the mages headed to safety, I waited for the envoy to reach me. I could see the commanding officer now. He was a young man, but I couldn't tell his rank from this distance. As they approached me, I counted at least ten men.

As the group crossed the bridge, I looked at the commanding officer's armor again. He had the distinctive gold armor of a commanding officer. There were two painted diamonds on his breastplate, signifying that he was a major. He was a relatively low rank to be a commanding officer, but this was also a rather small force that he commanded.

The group approached me, but kept their weapons sheathed. They obviously weren't going to hurt me. The commanding officer rode his horse towards me, stopped ten feet away, and dismounted. He approached me, and reached out to shake my hand.

"I am Major Redfield, commanding officer of Fajfar's fifth division. And you are…?" I gripped his hand tightly, shaking it.

"Lieutenant Link, commanding officer of jack shit now that your demon destroyed our castle and teleported our military off into the wilds. What do you want? There's nothing in Kakariko for you now. Your mages failed. You cannot breach the gate. Your numbers will mean nothing in that narrow pass. You'll be leading your men into certain death." I said.

"I have no urge to attack Kakariko now. I never did." Major Redfield said, unexpectedly. "My men are demoralized. We ran half the front line through when they tried to desert. I know we can't win, so I have an offer for you."

"I'm listening." I said calmly.

"I know where about eight thousand Hylians are being kept, most of which are soldiers. I can tell you where they are, and even help you get them back." He said.

I almost jumped in shock. I hadn't expected that, but I quickly regained my composure. "And in return, you would want...?"

"We want a home. We face certain death in both directions. If we storm Kakariko, we will all die. We probably won't even scratch that gate with all the archers that are probably behind it. If we fail, we have to go back to Fajfar, where all five thousand of these men, including the officers, would be executed." He said, looking down at the ground.

"You expect me to put an entire army inside the city it was about to attack? I can't do that, Major. I understand your plight, but I'm sure you understand that I can't trust your word like that. This could easily be a plan to get inside, earn our trust, and then kill everyone and everything." I said.

"I figured you would say that, so I have another idea." He said, but sounded a little more hopeful. "You confirmed what I've heard when you talked about the castle getting blown up. If that's the case, let me move my forces into what's left of Castle Town. There, we will rebuild. By the time the eight thousand captives are back, I can guarantee that we'll have enough houses done to give them a place to live. We can take care of ourselves, and will lay down our arms here."

I pondered what he said for a few seconds, and then decided that this was not my decision to make. "Bring five men with you, and I'm going to take you to Kakariko's steward. This is above my head."

Major Redfield called back to five of the mounted soldiers, who dismounted and walked over to me. The others broke off and galloped back to the army. When the Fajfi officers were ready, I ushered them towards the staircase, where the mages sat with Farore. She was using healing magic on one of them. They all looked up.

As we approached them, Farore stood, and I briefed her on what was going on through my thoughts. She nodded, and turned to the mages, telling them what was going on. To my relief, she appeared to have calmed down considerably. The adrenaline had worn off.

We walked past the group at the stairs, leaving them to take care of the injured. Farore, miraculously, had extracted the arrows out of all three mages that I had hit, and healed them. Even the man I had hit in the heart was sitting up on the rock face, clutching his chest in pain, but alive nonetheless.

_You really are a miracle worker, Farore. _I thought as I passed her. If the battle were really going to end here, there would be fewer deaths than any battle ever recorded. It would be a great moment in history.

Farore smiled up at me weakly. She looked tired, but I had to leave her to her own devices for now.

_This is a good day._ I thought, immensely relieved at how things had turned out. I glanced back at the group of mages, then once at the army, just to make sure everything was all right, and began ascending the stairs.

**BREAK**

The 'negotiations' didn't take long. Lt. Parks decided to take some level of pity on the commanding officer, and granted his request. In return, he told us that the eight thousand Hylian captives were being kept in a large prison near the Fajfar-Hyrule border. They had been captured as a negotiation tool, but the plan had fallen through when the demon never returned with the king. Now, they were performing the forced hard labor that was vital to the war effort.

Major Redfield admitted to having been there and even talking to a few of the captured soldiers. He had snuck some food and water in, and given it to as many as he could, and was absolutely horrified at how poorly these people were being treated. He had spoken with the warden, who blew him off. Apparently, he was simply following King Duncan's orders in regards to the treatment of the Hylian prisoners.

He had only just come from the prison two weeks ago, but was worried that the Hylians would soon begin to die of malnourishment.

Lt. Parks thanked him for the information, and for not attacking Kakariko, and then granted him permission to travel to Castle Town. A contract was signed, affirming that the men of Major Redfield's army would begin rebuilding Castle Town and Hyrule Castle. Kakariko's leaders would have supplies shipped to Castle Town. Afterwards, the king could decide what to do with them. More than likely, he would show them mercy. He always tried to find a reason to show the enemy mercy. It was what set him apart from other kings.

I found myself walking back towards the corner of Kakariko that the mages had occupied. I had hoped to find Farore there, but she wasn't. I trusted that the mages wouldn't ruin their chance at redemption by acting up, however, and left them on their own. I went to the only place that I could think of Farore being.

As I walked up the stairs in the inn, I could feel her distress, and knew I had found her. I had started to become attuned to her emotions, even over small distances. I figured it had something to do with either our mental connection or the Triforce. Maybe both.

I knocked on the door, and I heard Farore quietly call for me to come in. I opened the door and stepped in the room, not knowing what to expect.

Farore was curled up on the bed sobbing. Her chain mail and weapons were on the floor, and she had an uneaten meal sitting on the nightstand. It was cold, which meant that she had been here for a while. I hesitated, not knowing exactly how to handle this situation, but finally moved over to the bed and sat down next to her.

I unbuckled my sword and shield and dropped them to the floor, the leaned back on the headrest. "Come here." I said to Farore softly. She looked up at me with bloodshot eyes, still crying, and I took her hand. "Sit up here with me."

She did as I said. Leaning back on the headrest, she sighed, and then laid her head on my shoulder. I put my arm around her and pulled her close to me. For a few minutes, we just sat there as she cried into me. I knew there was nothing I could say that would make this situation right. All I could do was be there for her.

After awhile, Farore settled down, and stopped crying. I hugged her close to myself, and again we sat in silence.

"Thank you." Farore said after what seemed like an hour. "I…I don't know what was going through my head, and then I almost killed you by accident with that knife, but I was going to kill that poor man. I don't know…" She trailed off, and started crying softly again.

I reached over and wiped the tears from her eyes. I looked into them. They were a beautiful vibrant green that I couldn't tear away from. "Farore, it's alright. Battle changes who you are. It wasn't you who was going to kill him."

She buried her face into my shoulder, holding back more sobs. She was really taking this hard. She tried to stutter something out, but I shushed her and held her close. After a few minutes, she calmed down again, and sighed into my chest.

"What would I have done without you here today?" She muttered.

"We're here for each other." I said softly. "You don't have to worry about what you would have done without me."

"This sounds like some corny daytime theatric with two star crossed lovers." Farore said, laughing weakly. I couldn't help a grin, either.

"Well, if you'd prefer, I could go sit in the chair over there and show no emotion whatsoever so that it doesn't get corny." I said.

"Bull, I bet you'd laugh within a minute."

"Challenge accepted." I said, and got up. I walked over to the chair, sitting down and staring at Farore with my most serious expression.

"Damn it, Link." Farore said, smiling her beautiful smile. "Don't make me come over there." I stared at her, my face completely expressionless.

I spoke in a monotone. "Why would you come over here? There's nothing here for you."

"Oh really?" Farore said, smiling again. This time it was genuine. I hoped I was helping her put the troubles of the day behind her. She needed it; she would dwell on her actions all night otherwise. She got up and walked over to me, while I still kept a stoic expression.

"Yeah, really." I said, trying as hard as I could to keep my face straight. It all broke as she sat in my lap. "Oh damn…"

"Hmmm, nothing over here for me? I think that was a lie." She said, and kissed me lightly, then pulled away, teasing me. "You lost the challenge, by the way. You hardly made it thirty seconds."

"And I made you smile." I said, grinning. "I'd say losing the challenge was worth it." I kissed her again, not so lightly this time.

This kiss wasn't short like the previous night. Things got heated quickly, and I had to restrain myself, not wanting to take anything too quickly. I had made that mistake with Zelda, but I wasn't going to with Farore.

I pulled away from her kiss. I wanted to keep going so bad, but I wouldn't let myself.

"You're such a tease." Farore said, grinning.

"Says the tease." I said, laughing. "Let's go get something to eat downstairs and get cleaned up. I need to…calm down."

"What…" Farore looked puzzled for a split second, and then glanced down. "Oh, right." She got up and walked over to the water basin in the corner, splashing some of it on her face and grabbing a nearby towel. She muttered something.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Nothing." She said, grinning.

"Bullshit it's nothing. What is it?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

"You're very easily excited, young man." She said bluntly, laughing, then added, "And very well endowed." I turned red, appreciating the dark room.

_How the hell did she…you see that?_

"Because I'm pretty awesome." She said, and then walked over to me, leaning in and giving me a short kiss. "Besides, for all you know I could be…dripping with desire right now.

"You're not exactly helping this problem right now." I said, laughing. "And talk about a corny theatric."

"I don't see how this is a problem. I'd be worried if you weren't showing anything." She laughed, then leaned in and kissed me again, a little longer. "Or concerned with my own abilities."

"God, Farore. And you had the guts to call _me _a tease?" I asked.

She leaned in and kissed me again, much longer this time, then pulled away. "Yes." She smiled. "I'll be waiting downstairs for when your raging boner goes away."

My stomach growled loudly, as if on cue. I hadn't realized how hungry I was.

"Alright, just give me a few minutes." I said. Farore kissed me once again, and then walked out the door.

_Screw this, celibacy is gonna be hard. _I thought, and then chuckled to myself. _Literally._

**END**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'd like some more visitors to my story, so if anyone has an idea or some tips, let me know. I'm thinking a new description or something. Or a picture, if any of you have a good idea. I know a lot of people liked the original picture I had on here with Link and Zelda being all lovey-dovey and stuff, but that's sort of misleading as to the direction this story goes.**

**One note that I needed to clear up since I saw it in a review (Thank you for reviewing Generala). Farore is NOT tricking Link with some kind of weird magic to make him fall for her. She can't control people or take away their free will.**

**This is a long chapter. It's two or three times bigger than what I normally write. 15,052 words. Enjoy!**

**Vivi**

**START**

Chapter 11

Zelda and Jack walked along the forest trail, enjoying the sounds of life around them. This had become a daily habit. They had taken over the cabin, now that Victoria had disappeared, and were hit by an immense sense of boredom within a few days. There was truly nothing to do besides explore the enormous forest. Every day, there would be new trails to explore and new places to go. The king was happy to stay in the cabin, but Zelda and Jack would always leave to go on a new adventure.

Day after day, Zelda became more certain that her theory of this place was correct. They found that they didn't have to eat, drink, or sleep. Many things that would have limited their bodies seemed to not affect them here. They could walk for hours on end, never getting tired or having to stop because of pain in their feet.

Today, they had found a new trail branching off from an existing one earlier in the day. This one headed the direction that Zelda thought was north, but couldn't really tell. They did know that no other trails seemed to head this way, and had both set off on it without a second thought. Zelda was interested to find what was in the north, since she had never been able to go that direction without wandering off of the trail.

The trail was small. Jack had to walk in front of her, but they moved forward nonetheless.

Jack glanced back. "What's wrong, Zelda? Normally you don't stop talking for hours, but you've hardly said a word today."

Zelda looked up from the ground, a little startled. "Wha- Oh, sorry. I'm just thinking."

"About…?"

Zelda sighed, deciding she should probably let everything off her chest. "All the people in Hyrule. I know we were just doing what we were told when we left, but I feel like I ran away when those people needed me the most. Regardless of if Farore said that we should, I shouldn't have. What if Link got smacked on the head and was seeing things or something? We could be trapped here while he's completely on his own or dead over there. I don't know, I guess I'm just having a lot of regrets right now."

Jack thought for a second. "Well, I can't say the same thing hasn't crossed my mind before. It's unnerving, to say the least. What gave me a little bit of comfort was the fact that Link had all three pieces of the Triforce. I don't know how he could have gotten those without the help of a goddess."

"He already had one piece, but yeah I guess you're right." Zelda sighed. "Still doesn't change the fact that we're stuck here without a way to get back."

"Is it difficult being away from Link?" Jack asked, rather unexpectedly.

Zelda was taken aback a little. Jack didn't normally ask many personal questions. She didn't mind answering them; she just didn't expect them most of the time. He almost never asked about Link. "Well, I don't know. I mean, yeah I guess. But I'm sort of pissed at him for sending us here. But…actually no. It's really not that bad. Him and I were sort of used to being gone for long periods of time. Why do you ask?"

"Well if Farore told him to send us here, I'd cut him some slack." Jack said, smiling.

"You didn't answer my question." Zelda said.

"What? Why I asked? Just curious." He replied.

Zelda gave him a strange look. He was hiding something. She may not have had the Triforce of Wisdom anymore, but she could tell when someone wasn't being honest with her. She was about to push the subject, but something caught her eye.

"Hey, what's that?' She asked, stopping and pointing off to the side of the trail. Jack turned around to look, and followed her line of sight. He squinted his eyes, seeing a dark shape on the ground. It looked like a simple piece of wood.

"What about it?" He asked, slightly puzzled.

Zelda went over to the log and kneeled down in the grass next to it. She picked it up, then swung it around and smacked it against a nearby tree, breaking it into five different pieces. "It's dead."

Jack suddenly understood. Since they had arrived here, they had not seen anything dead. Even the leaves on the trees didn't fall off. The grass was all a vibrant green. There were no branches falling on the ground when they had dried up and died. Even the logs that had been used to build the cabin they lived in were still a healthy, living green on the inside.

Yet here, in Zelda's hands, on the only trail they had found that went north, was a dead log. Jack glanced back down the path, seeing a few more. He couldn't see far, though, because of the hill in front of them. What he could see seemed to have more dead logs, withered leaves, and yellowed out, dry grass.

"We probably need to turn back. I don't think it's safe to go any further." Jack said quietly. "And probably never come back down this trail again."

"Yeah…" Zelda murmured, but they both stared down the trail at the hill blocking their view. They both knew something was probably behind it.

They both glanced at each other. "Well, maybe one look over that hill wouldn't hurt." Jack said, giving in to his curiosity. Zelda nodded in agreement, and they began jogging up the hill.

A few minutes later, as they neared the top, Zelda stopped, and Jack slid to a halt behind her. The crest of the hill was only ten feet ahead.

"Whatever is behind this hill, we need to agree not to go into it unless it looks perfectly safe. We have no weapons or anything to defend ourselves if there's something in there." Zelda said.

"Agreed." Jack said, and they walked towards the top of the hill. Zelda gasped as she saw what was behind it, and Jack nearly took off running the other direction.

The living part of the forest ended abruptly fifty feet ahead of them, and gave way to a massive cliff face. At the bottom of the cliff, they could see a valley filled with rivers of molten lava that went as far as the eye could see. In front of them, the trail led down the face of the canyon and into the valley. Zelda hadn't ever imagined finding anything like this in the peaceful forest.

Jack was staring at the valley with wide eyes. He took a few steps towards it, and then shuddered. "Zelda, there's something down there." He choked out.

Zelda walked up behind him, and then looked out over the valley. Shapes were moving around it. They were spread out, far and few between, but they were there. Zelda shuddered. They looked like people, but she didn't want to accept that possibility.

Off on the horizon, Jack spotted a massive structure. It must have been over fifteen miles away, so he couldn't make out what it was for sure. It looked like an enormous temple.

"I'd ask you what that is, but I don't think you know." Jack said, pointing at the structure in the distance. Zelda didn't respond. She just stared at the valley with horror. Abruptly, she turned around, and began walking the opposite direction. Jack followed, knowing that they should go no further.

Neither of them spoke for over an hour. They made their way quickly back over the hill and into the living part of the forest. Finally, Zelda broke the silence.

"That thing you pointed out." She said abruptly. "That was a temple. It was the temple of the Sacred Realm that I've seen in my dreams. I haven't had the dreams in awhile, ever since Ganondorf was defeated, but I haven't forgotten what it looks like."

"THAT was the Sacred Realm?" Jack asked. "It sure as hell didn't look sacred. It just looked like hell."

"I finally understand now…" Zelda trailed off. "Oh, goddesses, this is horrible. This is absolutely horrible. How could this have happened?"

"Slow down and tell me what's going through your mind. It might help." Jack said, trying to calm her down.

Zelda turned to him. "Jack, most people don't know this, but Ganondorf took over Hyrule about twelve years ago. He killed everyone in Castle Town, including my father. Link went forward in time to defeat him when he was ten years old. Then he turned time back, and only a few people remember. Those few would be the sages and Link. The sages locked Ganon's spirit away in the gap between dimensions. There are two known dimensions. One would be the world we live in, and the other would be heaven. Since we're not in either, I can only assume that this is the gap between the two dimensions."

Jack looked at her, slightly confused, "So you're saying that everyone died, then Link brought us back to life, and trapped Ganondorf here in the process? And now we're stuck in a gap between two dimensions with the same man who tried and succeeded in destroying Hyrule, but was subsequently foiled, had all his work undone by Link, and was sealed away?"

Zelda thought for a second. "In a nut shell, yes."

"I'm glad I'm not a scholar." Jack muttered to himself.

Zelda continued on. "If this is the gap between dimensions, it would explain why we don't actually have bodies, and nothing on this side of it is dead, because nothing can be alive or dead when it doesn't live in an actual dimension. The gap between the two dimensions would reflect the state of the two dimensions. I think. So if Ganondorf was banished here, that would be his side, whereas this is the side that reflects heaven. And there's probably another part of it that reflects the state of the world we know. It's probably in chaos right now. This is the Sacred Realm, and I think it's being corrupted by Ganondorf's presence."

Jack didn't say anything. Zelda was simply talking to herself at this point, and he would only be distracting her if he asked questions.

Zelda tossed ideas around out loud for a little while, but gave up when she couldn't find a better explanation than she had given at first. Finally, when they were about halfway home, and darkness had completely enveloped the forest, Zelda turned to Jack.

"I have no idea what's going on."

Jack jumped a little, having been completely oblivious to everything. Once he regained his composure, he thought for a second. "Well, let's look at this with a more simple method. Are we in danger in this part of the forest?"

"I don't know." Zelda said simply.

"Make an educated guess."

"If Ganondorf isn't actually here, and I'm freaking out for nothing, no. If he is here, but doesn't know we are, no. If he's here, and finds out I am, too, we're screwed." She said.

"What are the chances of him being here?" Jack asked.

"High."

"And could we fight him off if he found us?"

"No way in hell. He almost killed Link, so he'd wipe the floor with us."

"So let's lay low, and never go back down this trail once we get back. If he were here, I'd imagine he probably lives in that enormous temple we saw on the horizon. But that's got to be twenty-five miles away by now. If we stay far away and don't come out of the forest, he probably won't find us." Jack said.

"You might want to pray to the goddesses that he doesn't even suspect we're here, or he _will_ find us." Zelda said.

It was going to be a long walk back.

**BREAK**

The next morning, Farore and I slept late. At around noon, we left the inn, hoping to find something to take our minds off the previous day's minor battle. Lt. Parks had organized a large force of men, supplemented with volunteers from Major Redfield's force, that would be setting out to liberate the Hylian prisoners the next day. Farore and I both intended to be with them, so we wanted to have some time to relax. More than anything, I just wanted some personal time with Farore.

Farore and I were growing closer; there was no doubt about it. I felt bad for not being able to tell Zelda, but I couldn't help that I couldn't reach her. It sounded corny when I said it to myself, but it felt right being around Farore. It was like she had been made to perfectly complement me. She wasn't clingy or bitchy, nor did she act like a teenage girl.

It felt good to have someone at my back, too. She could read my emotions like the back of her hand, and would force me to talk about them. At first, it had bothered me. But I had found that my mood had greatly improved ever since she had forced me to talk about things. And most importantly, I was having fewer old memories of battle.

It seemed weird to me to think of the name Farore followed by the word girlfriend, but that was definitely the case. This had been the goddess I had worshipped my entire life, but I wasn't overly bothered by it. If she wanted to be with me so bad, who was I to tell her no simply because she had been a goddess? I couldn't help but be attracted to the kind of selfless dedication she had shown towards me.

I wasn't an idealist; I knew that at some point, I would want personal space. Once the newness of the relationship wore off, I would want some time on my own. We both would. But right now, there was a war, and that wasn't a luxury either of us could have. Personal time would have to wait.

I glanced over at Farore, where she stood next to me in the archery range. We had been in a heated competition for the past half hour, shooting at increasingly distant and, finally, moving targets. I seemed to have the edge, but it was close. I fired my last arrow, hitting the final target directly in the center.

"Damn you." Farore muttered as she picked up the bow. She had to hit all ten bull's-eyes, or I would win. She knocked an arrow, and the targets began to move. The contest didn't take long. She missed the bull's-eye on the fourth arrow, and cursed as she threw her bow on the table.

I chuckled. "You swear worse than I do, and I'm an actual soldier."

She glared at me. "I don't give a shit."

I laughed again, and we walked out of the range. As I closed the door, I looked up into the clear sky. The weather couldn't have been any better. The sky was clear, the temperature comfortable, and I had Farore by my side. It couldn't get much better.

I looked down the street of the main square we were on. There was plenty to do here, but my mind wandered off to the events of yesterday.

"Link, I think we should go check on those two boys we saved yesterday." Farore said abruptly.

I couldn't argue with her. If what the boy had said was true, his parents would be the only people on the Hylian side of the war who had died yesterday. I nodded. "Yeah, we probably should. Do you know where they are?"

"No, but we should check with the woman I left them with. She'll at least know who took them." She said.

For over an hour, we followed a trail of people who had taken emergency custody of the boy. The older woman Farore had left them with had turned out to be a mage, and had been called to the gates after us. She had left the boys with her neighbor, who had happened to know their uncle. The uncle had picked the two up after the battle and taken them to their grandmother, who had them now.

"It must have been traumatic for those two." I said as we walked up to the grandmother's house. I felt sick thinking about what they must have seen. I had seen friends die before, but never had I had an actual family. I wouldn't know what it would feel like to watch my parents die. I didn't expect these two boys to be in any kind of good mood, or even willing to talk right now.

I knocked on the door, and a few moments later, a woman who looked to be well into her sixties came to the door. She glanced out at us nervously, seeing that we were armed. I mentally face-palmed myself for not setting my sword down.

"What is it?" She asked through the screen door on the outside, keeping her distance.

"Yesterday, we found two boys on the street whose parents were assassinated right before the battle. We heard that you're their grandmother, and came here to check on them. Would that be possible? We won't come in there with these weapons, don't worry." Farore said. It was better that she handled this.

The old woman looked at Farore closely, then her eyes got wide. "Oh, my. You must be the two! Please, come in, and don't worry about the weapons." She opened the screen door, ushering us in. "Make yourselves comfortable. I'll go get the boys. I'm sure Connor will want to see the pretty lady that saved him. My, my, did he go on about you to me. I see why, you're absolutely gorgeous. If only I could have looked like you as a teenager…" She kept rambling as she went up the stairs by the door.

Farore chuckled as the old lady disappeared. "It looks like you're not the only one who can't stop thinking about that."

I smiled. "No, I'm definitely not. Just wait until we get some of the soldiers back from that prison. You'll be getting plenty of that."

"Don't remind me." Farore laughed.

We heard some rustling upstairs, and the two young boys barreled down the stairs. I heard the older one, the one I guessed to be Connor, yell to his grandma on the way down. "See what I told you?" They stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and looked into the living room at us. Without hesitation, they both barreled into Farore's open arms. The younger boy was crying.

The grandmother came down the stairs. There were tears in her eyes as well, and she laughed as she saw them ignoring me. She came over to me while the boys hugged Farore incessantly.

"What's your name, young man?" She asked me.

"I'm Link. This is Ellen." I said, shaking her hand.

"You must both be sent from the heavens. I…wish someone could have been there earlier to save my son and daughter-in-law, but you saved my grandchildren. That's all that matters now." She was tearing up again.

"I wish I could have been there earlier, too. It's not fair to these boys for that to happen to them. How are they handling it?" I asked.

"They're managing as best they can. I've been keeping them distracted, and it seems to work well enough. I've been trying to keep myself distracted, too, but it's not working very well. Maybe it's because I'm not eleven years old like Connor. I'm not so easily distracted. My name is Ruth, by the way." She said.

"Well, that's the only thing you can do." I said. "I've lost people close to me before, and carrying on with life is the right way to handle it."

"Yes, you're right." Ruth said. "I just wish I didn't have to. I never thought I would bury my own child. I still have my grandchildren, though. That's what matters right now. The funeral is already over, and it's time to move on."

"Move on, but never forget." I murmured, and then looked down as the boys unlatched themselves from Farore. Both of them had tears in their eyes, but looked overjoyed at Farore's presence.

I smiled, touched by how happy these two kids were to see Farore. The younger one looked at me. "Is miss Ellen your wife?"

I immediately turned dark red, embarrassed beyond belief. Both Farore and Ruth began laughing hysterically. It didn't take long for me to realize that they were laughing at me, not at the question.

_You look like you just saw a ghost. _I heard Farore's voice in my head. She was thoroughly amused.

"Uh…no...no…she's not…yeah…she's just…well yeah." I stammered out.

"Good, because she's mine now." The little boy smiled mischievously.

"Oh Brandon, you're such a little devil." Ruth said, still laughing. "You two go back upstairs. I'm sure your guardian angels will be back to visit you again."

The boys groaned, not wanting to leave, but did as they were told, calling "bye miss Ellen," as they sprinted back up the stairs.

"Thank you." Ruth said to us when they had left. "This is what they needed. This is what I needed. It helps when I see them happy like that. I suddenly have to remember how to be a mother all over again, and it's hard. Things like this help."

"Don't mention it." Farore said, smiling.

"And my goddesses, girl, you're going to make this poor boy here keel over from a heart attack if you keep smiling like that. I wish you had been around forty years ago to show me how to do that to men." Both Ruth and Farore laughed, purely at my expense. I turned redder than ever.

I laughed awkwardly, feeling incredibly embarrassed. "Relax, Link. Women don't bite." Farore said.

Ruth gave her a devious look. "Oh yes we do."

The two of them burst out laughing again. I was completely lost as to why that was so funny, and I gave the two of them a strange look. "I have no idea-"

"It's a sex joke, young man." Ruth said, still laughing. "Old women can still have a sense of humor."

I gave up feeling embarrassed. It was too much of a hassle.

For the next hour, we sat with Ruth in her living room. We talked about her old stories, her husband, her kids, and especially her two grandchildren. She had done a lot of adventuring in her time, and had plenty of stories to tell. She made sure we drank plenty of ale, as well. She seemed dead set on getting us drunk.

Eventually, we headed out the door to go find dinner and prepare for the next day. Ruth thanked us profusely for turning her day around, and begged us to find time to visit again.

As we walked back into the inn, the innkeeper waved me down. "Aye, young man. Did you need an extra room still? I got one now that them refugees are headed back to Castle Town to help rebuild."

I glanced at Farore.

_No, I have plans for you. _I heard her voice.

"Nah, we're good. Thanks, though." I said, smiling.

The innkeeper smiled knowingly. "Aye, you two have fun." The bar in front of him erupted, heckling me with a few shouts of 'get some' and 'yeah buddy.' These men had obviously been paying attention to Farore and I. Probably just her.

I laughed, grabbed two of the plates of food on the counter, and Farore and I walked up the stairs. We entered the room, and I set the plates down on the table. Turning around, I saw Farore staring at me, laughing.

"What's so funny now?" I asked defensively.

"You're _so _awkward." She said sweetly, and then came over to me, wrapping her arms around my neck and looking at me with her beautiful green eyes. She leaned up and kissed me softly. I wrapped my arms around her, kissing her back.

After a few minutes, she pulled back and tapped my nose, smiling. "Just loosen up. Life is too short to feel awkward about everything."

"You know, you're like the ultimate tease." I said.

Farore smiled as she began chowing down on one of the plates of food. "Maybe I like being a tease." She said, her mouth full of food.

"Hmmm, well I'm going to have to tease you and see how you like it." I grumbled.

"I doubt you could pull that off." Farore said, laughing to herself.

"I could have you begging for more." I said.

Farore's smile disappeared completely, and she looked up from her plate at me. "Challenge accepted. Try me." She said seriously

"Oh that's not even fair, you know you'll win." I said. "That takes all the fun out of it."

"There's only one way to find out." She said, finishing up her food. "You failed your challenge last time, and I bet you'll fail this one, too."

I looked up from the food I had begun eating. "Oh, really? I beg to differ. It seems like I have you begging for more already, since you're so insistent on me taking that challenge."

Farore paused, thinking. "No, that doesn't-"

Without warning, I jumped towards her, tackling her onto the bed. I pinned her arms above her head, then leaned down and kissed her lightly. I let things heat up quickly, and then pulled back for a second.

"Alright fine, Link. You win." She moaned.

"Oh, so you _do _want more?" I asked, smiling knowingly.

Farore glared at me. "Yes, damn it."

I let her arms go, and then stood up. Farore looked at me with surprise. "Where the hell are you going?"

"Oh, I'm just gloating the way you did last night." I said, grinning.

"What?!" Farore said, exasperated. "You can't jump on top of me like that and then do that to me!"

I grinned even wider. "I just did."

Before she popped a blood vessel, I reached down and picked her up off of the bed. Farore smiled at me sheepishly. "Look what you do to me."

"You're a hot mess." I said, then kissed her again, and pushed her up against a wall.

She pulled away again. "Damn, Link. You know how to get a girl worked up." She paused. "How far are we going to let this go?"

I stopped for a second. I had promised myself to be celibate for the time being. As much as I wanted to break that promise, I needed to at least wait until I had the chance to end my relationship with Zelda. It wasn't fair to her even now, but definitely wouldn't be if I had sex with someone else while she was gone.

But I wanted to so bad.

"I don't know." I said simply.

"If you're conflicted, I won't push it. You take it at your pace. We probably shouldn't be rushing into anything." She said, wiggling her way back to the floor. "We'll just leave it at this for tonight."

She leaned in and kissed me for a long time, but kept the heat down. We were already about to tear each other's clothes off. We definitely didn't need to be getting hot and heavy right now if we wanted to have any possibility of not having sex in the next few minutes.

"You know I'm not going to have a prayer of sleeping tonight after that." Farore said as she fell back on the bed. She sighed contentedly. "Too damn horny."

I pulled off my shirt and crawled under the covers. Unlike her, I had every possibility of being able to sleep tonight. "I'm going to sleep." I said, smiling. "Maybe you should try. We've got a tough couple days ahead of us."

Farore crawled up to the top of the bed, and slid under the covers. She rolled over to face me, and leaned in to give me a goodnight kiss. I wrapped my arms around her, not quite done admiring her pretty green eyes and beautiful smile. All thoughts of marching out with the military in the morning quickly disappeared. We were both content at the moment, wrapped up in each other's arms and drifting off to sleep.

**BREAK**

The next morning was filled with activity. I woke early and left Farore in the inn to meet Lt. Parks in the Lord's Mansion, where he was holding a command meeting. It was determined that we would march out in the early afternoon.

I sat in the main hall, listening to Lt. Parks talk.

"The trip will take four days to get there. It will take five or six to get back, if we succeed. If we have to fight and have wounded soldiers, it will take over a week. Make sure your families know that this could take as long as two to three weeks, depending on what happens. I hope that we will be back soon, but it's always best to plan for the worst." He said.

"When we arrive at the prison, we'll keep the entire force back a couple miles. A small contingent of negotiators will enter the prison and attempt to…" Lt. Parks paused, and a small smile crossed his face. "Persuade the warden to let the Hylians go."

A small chuckle ran around the room. The 'persuasion' would probably end up becoming more of a brawl. Hylians were known for negotiating with their fists.

Lt. Parks laughed with us, and then continued. "If the warden has an incredibly high pain tolerance, we'll call up our makeshift army and liberate the prison, including all the actual Fajfi prisoners. We can determine what to do with them later. Afterwards, we're going to have half of our force split off and guard the eight thousand Hylians as they head back to Castle Town and meet Major Redfield's forces. That half of our force will stay in Castle Town for an undecided period of time, helping to rebuild and holding Major Redfield's army to his word. Kakariko's militia will be staying here to fill the guard role while we're gone."

Major Redfield nodded from where he stood off to the side. Such precautions were only to be expected.

"I'm going to take volunteers for the half that goes to Castle Town before I start assigning men. We will transport families there after there is enough housing, should anyone wish to live there permanently. As for the group that's going into the prison to negotiate with the warden, I'm going to take two men. Major Redfield and Lieutenant Link."

My head snapped up. I had been dozing off. "Oh, no. You don't want to do that. I don't do diplomacy, Lieutenant."

Wild laughter ran throughout the room. By now, the story of what I had done to Lord Walter had passed among the residents of Kakariko. The soldiers had heard the tale the most, and I had been the recipient of more high fives and fist bumps than all the teenagers in the village combined.

I looked up at Lt. Parks, who was smiling. "Exactly my point." He said, and then turned back to the larger group. "Have all your men on Hyrule Field ready to move out by two o'clock today. Dismissed."

I immediately ran to Lt. Parks, pulling him to the side. "Are you sure you want this? I'm serious about my diplomacy. I had my sword drawn on Lord Walter in under two minutes. If this warden doesn't cooperate immediately, I'll probably end up beating him half to death."

Lt. Parks laughed maniacally. "I'm counting on that, Link. I'm too passive, and Major Redfield says he isn't much for aggressive negotiation, either. I'm not going to limit what you can do to the warden, besides asking that you don't kill him. If beating him half to death is what you need to do, go for it."

I stared at him for a second.

_Damn it, now Farore's going to try to give me more lessons on diplomacy. _I thought.

"All right, fine. I'll do it, but only if I don't have to go on night watch while we're camped out." I said. I didn't want to be alone with my thoughts just yet.

Lt. Parks nodded his head. "Sounds fair. It's a deal. There was one other thing I needed to ask you, Link."

"What is it?"

"I was looking through the manifest of prisoners that Major Redfield stole from the prison, and I saw something interesting. Ellen Glenn, one of King Nordica's advisors, was listed on it. She's a prisoner in there."

_Oh shit. _I was at a loss for words. There was nothing I could do to cover this.

Lt. Parks saw my eyes go wide. "Who is that woman that's with you?"

I still couldn't speak. I didn't know what to say. I couldn't think of anything to cover this up, but I didn't think Farore wanted me to give away her identity.

"Link, I need an answer." Lt. Parks said patiently. "If we have a magician that powerful in Kakariko, I need to know exactly who she is."

_What's going on, Link? _I heard Farore's voice in my head.

_Lieutenant Parks found a manifest of the prisoners with Ellen Glenn's name listed on it. He knows you aren't who you said you are. I didn't even know Ellen Glenn was an actual advisor to the king, but I guess you thought she was dead and used her name. Basically, he knows and I don't have a cover story. _I thought, silently wishing that she would have something.

_It's fine, that's my bad. Just tell him the truth. _She said.

_You sure?_

_Yeah, go ahead. He's trustworthy._

_All right._

"Link." Lt. Parks said, a little less patiently.

"We need to go somewhere private." I said, and walked towards a nearby hallway. Lt. Parks followed me, looking a little puzzled. Once in the hallway, I pushed the door closed, and turned around to the Lieutenant.

"You're going to think I'm insane, just for starters. But I'm not. And I need your assurance that you won't repeat what I'm about to say to anyone, for any reason." I said.

Lt. Parks thought for a second. "Alright, I guess so."

I sighed, not sure how to word what I needed to say. "Obviously that's not Ellen Glenn. Ellen Glenn is as you saw; an advisor to the king that we previously thought had died in the explosion."

Lt. Parks nodded, knowing that much already.

I paused, but finally collected myself. "The girl with me is the goddess Farore. She gave me the complete Triforce, and is in Hyrule permanently, so that she can help us with the war."

For a split second, Lt. Parks had a look of disbelief. He looked like he was about to rebuke me for saying something so stupid, but then he paused. His brow furrowed as he thought about the events of the past few days. To him, Farore and I seemed to glance at each other and be completely in tune with what the other was saying. She was ten times over the most powerful magician he had ever seen in his life. Added on top of that were those stunning, unnaturally green eyes. Green was Farore's color. Even on top of that was her otherworldly beauty.

Disbelief turned to realization and understanding in a few seconds. The lieutenant looked stunned, to say the least. But at least he believed me. Suddenly, he grabbed my left hand, pulling the leather glove off. Underneath was the complete Triforce. He sat and stared for a second.

"Never in my life…" He mumbled to himself, and then handed my glove back to me. "Alright, Link. As much of a nut case as you sound like right now, I believe you. I'll continue to call her Ellen, and keep her cover. I understand now why she hid her true identity."

"Thank you." I said. "I better go get ready. I only have a couple hours."

"Yeah, I'll see you on Hyrule Field later." Lt. Parks said. I could tell he was still stunned.

I shook my head as I walked away from the manor. The man was smart, I had to give him that. I would have never noticed such a small detail.

I walked back into my room at the inn, where I found Farore had cleaned up and prepared for us to leave.

"How did it go?" She asked as I came in the door.

"Well, he didn't believe me for a second, but he does now." I said. "I can't believe he noticed that. On a list of eight thousand names, he picked out Ellen Glenn, of all people."

"Well, life goes on." She said. "It's not really a big deal. People are going to find out when we get to the prison anyways, if this lady is still alive. If anyone confronts me about it, I'll be honest with them. I'd prefer if they didn't, but I don't want to have to lie about who I am for the next eighty years."

"Yeah, good point." I said. "You'll never be left alone when people start finding out, though."

Farore moved up next to me and hugged me. "That's alright. You can just turn into a hulking brute and chase them off when they start getting on my nerves."

I laughed. "I'll tell you what else is a hulking brute."

"Don't tempt me to find out." Farore said with a grin.

We finished packing up quickly, and headed out the door to wait on the rest of the military. It looked to be only noon, but we left through the gate and got situated by the staircase in Hyrule Field, waiting for further orders.

**BREAK**

The days of travel had been uneventful. No bandit group would have dared try to attack a military envoy, and we didn't find any enemy scouts. According to Major Redfield, King Duncan had been considering pulling back to Fajfar and regrouping, since the total disappearance of the largest of the armies had disrupted his plans for Kakariko's occupation.

The original plan had been that Major Redfield's force would break down the gates, and proceed with the final assault. Twenty-four hours would pass while his force captured key points in the city. After that twenty-four hour window, the larger force would move in and occupy the city. This was the last major stronghold in Hyrule.

What concerned me the most about the situation was that Zora's Domain, Gerudo Fortress, and Lake Hylia were all under Fajfi control. Zora's Domain had gone down without swords being drawn, according to the Major. The Gerudo had fought and killed many of the Fajfi soldiers before disappearing into the haunted wasteland. By now, they were either dead or hiding in the Spirit Temple.

Fortunately, King Duncan had gotten word of some great power hidden in the forest, and decided that he wanted it for himself. He had lost an entire army to the Lost Woods. It had been his second largest. Not a single one of them had been found since they entered the woods from Hyrule Field.

Major Redfield told us many stories of King Duncan's cruelty. Over half of his military had been wiped out by now, and the king cared very little. He would execute his officers mercilessly for the failures of others.

I sat on Epona, listening to Major Redfield talk for a while. The man absolutely despised King Duncan, along with all of the other officers underneath him.

"The man is obsessed with power. Actually, I remember now that he mentioned something about the tri something or another." The major said.

"The Triforce?" I asked inquisitively.

"Yeah, that's it. Said he was gonna find it when Hyrule had fallen. He said it would give him limitless power or some horse crap like that."

I glanced at Lt. Parks, who was riding on the other side of Major Redfield. He shook his head minutely. There was no reason to tell him that I had the sacred triangles. He probably wouldn't believe me anyways.

"Well anyways, taking over Hyrule has become his personal obsession. It's been that way for years. He talked about it with his son since he was a young boy. He wanted him to marry Princess Zelda, and he was going to have King Nordica assassinated so that he could take over. I think we all know that that didn't turn out." Major Redfield looked over at me and chuckled. "Good job on that, boy. Prince Jacob embarrassed his father in front of the entire court when he told him what you did."

I smiled, remembering fondly the time I ran Prince Jacob out of the throne room with my sword. "I can imagine King Duncan didn't want to hear that in front of the entire court and all of his advisors." I said.

"Didn't want to? No, he had told the young prince to come home with Princess Zelda's heart or not come home at all. The prince is just a tool for King Duncan. He tried to take over Valadium, to the south, the same way when Prince Jacob was fourteen. He didn't actually attack when their princess laughed him away, though." Major Redfield said. "Of course, he didn't have that blasted demon."

"Do you know anything about that demon? He captured the king and was trying to break his mind." I said, my curiosity piqued.

"Well, I know that he's dead now. Beyond that, no. He just sort of appeared a few months before we attacked Hyrule, then disappeared again one day. Shortly after he disappeared, we began mobilizing." The major paused. "I heard that what happened at Castle Town was his fault. Is that true?"

"Yes, he blew the castle to pieces and smothered Castle Town underneath the rubble." I said.

"Who killed him? If he was that powerful with magic, who could have possibly…" He looked over at Farore, who was riding on the other side of me. "Was it you?"

Farore didn't look at him. She was lost in her own world.

_Farore, Major Redfield is talking to you. _I said, giving her a mental nudge.

"Oh! Sorry, what was it?" Farore glanced over at the man.

"Was it you who killed that demon in Hyrule, my lady? I've seen what you can do with magic. It's like nothing I've ever imagined. Not even a demon could stand up to that." Major Redfield said.

"Oh, that? No, that wasn't me. That was Link." Farore said, and then went back into her own mind. She was being heavily distracted by something, but I couldn't tell what it was.

Major Redfield gave me an interested look. "If you killed him, that would mean you were in Castle Town right after the explosion. Do you know what happened to the army that marched there the next day?"

"Yes." I said, not willing to tell him what I had done.

"Well…?"

I sighed. I knew the man deserved to know. He had more than likely had many good friends in that army. "They're all dead, Major. I'm sorry."

He looked shocked. "But…there's no way…how…how did that happen?"

I glanced down at my left hand. Underneath my glove sat his answer. It was the solution to most of our problems in this war. But I couldn't tell him. Not right now. "It… I'm sorry Major. It's not something I can share with you. I'd prefer to keep it to myself for now."

Major Redfield was upset, to say the least. But at least he didn't push the subject. I would tell him eventually, but not that day.

"We're almost to the prison, correct?" Lt. Parks asked Major Redfield as the sun was about to set.

"Yes. It's about five miles ahead of us. I would advise that we set up camp for the night, then the three of us head to the prison in the early morning."

"Agreed." The lieutenant said. He signaled to the bugler behind us, who called for a stop for the night. Fifteen hundred voices sighed in relief.

"Get ready for the morning." Major Redfield muttered to me. "That warden is one stubborn son of a bitch. And don't forget that we're in Fajfar now, even if it's just by a few miles. This is his territory."

I cracked my knuckles. "Don't worry, I'm a pro."

**BREAK**

The sun rose on Fajfar the next day, finding Lt. Parks, Major Redfield, and myself headed towards the prison. When we were a mile away, I saw the massive structure through the trees.

"Damn it, Redfield. That's a fortress, not a prison." Lt. Parks exclaimed.

"I know. In my defense, I told you that it's big." The major said. He looked at the prison and scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Let's just hope that we don't have to do more than threaten them. I'm thinking we should pad the numbers a little. We could say we have over two thousand men waiting, rather than the actual number."

"Or I could just beat the shit out of him and not worry about how many men we have backing us up." I grumbled. Nudging Epona, I brought her into an easy lope. I was ready for this to be over.

Half a mile away, we left our horses in a small clearing in the woods. We wouldn't be able to get them if things got hairy in the prison and we had them in the stables. A few minutes later, we were approaching the front gates of the prison.

"Identify yourselves and state your business." A guard called down from a tower next to the gate.

"I am Major Redfield, commanding officer of Fajfar's third division. I seek an audience with Warden Randall." Major Redfield stated loudly.

The two guards standing in the tower looked at each other nervously. "I heard that the third division was wiped out on the battlefield in front of Kakariko." One of them said.

"You heard wrong, guard. Let me in, I must speak with the warden at once." The major said.

The second guard in the tower blew two long blasts through a whistle, which was returned in kind from the front door of the prison. The gates opened, and we walked in. Once at the front door, another set of guards stopped us.

"Leave your weapons here, and follow me." One of them said. I glanced at Lt. Parks, and he nodded to me. I slipped my sword off my back, but kept my long knife hidden on my thigh, underneath my tunic. I also had close to fifteen throwing knives strapped to various covered parts of my body. I would not be going unarmed today.

The guard, seeing that we were ready, led us through a small labyrinth of hallways. After ten minutes of walking, I realized that he had walked us in circles, trying to confuse our senses of direction. Unfortunately for him, I figured out that the warden's office was just down the hall from the exit. It would be no trouble to escape in a hurry.

The guard knocked on the warden's door, and I heard a shuffling. "What?" I heard someone yell from inside the office.

"Guests from the third division. Major Redfield. They're here to see you, sir." The guard called through the door.

I heard the warden grunt, then pause. "Send them in." He said finally.

The three of us walked in the large office, followed by five guards. At a desk in the center of the room sat a burly man who looked to be well into his forties. He was smoking a noxious cigar, and had a stack of paperwork that looked like it had been put off for a while.

"What do you want? I'm busy, Major. You know that." The man grunted.

"I'll make it short and sweet, then." Redfield said. "We're here to secure the release of the Hylian prisoners you have here, so that we can take them back home."

The warden stared at him for a second, and took a puff of his cigar. "I can't tell if you're joking or not. You know I can't do that. You know I won't do that. I wouldn't even if I could."

"Randall, we have a force of two thousand Hylian and Fajfi soldiers waiting a couple miles off. If you don't release those prisoners, we're going to release them for you." Major Redfield said, getting to the main point.

Once again, the warden stared at him for a second, and then snapped his fingers. The guards reacted immediately, jumping forward to try to detain us. I pulled my knife out from its sheathe on my thigh and jumped out of the way of a rushing guard. I drove the knife upwards as I moved, ramming the blade into his face, all the way to the hilt. Turning around, I kicked him off the blade, and pulled out a throwing knife with my right hand. Three of the guards had tackled Major Redfield, but Lt. Parks was grappling with only one. I tossed the throwing knife to my left hand and catapulted it into the neck of the guard Lt. Parks was trying to get a hold of, and pulled one of them off of Major Redfield.

I stabbed this one with a moderately clumsy right-handed thrust, while pulling out another throwing knife. I stabbed the guard again with the throwing knife, then pulled it out and hurled it at the guard that Lt. Parks had pulled off of the major. The blade struck him in the neck, and he dropped quickly. Lt. Parks smashed his knife's handle into the final guard's helmet, and then sliced his throat open with the blade.

I turned around to look at the warden. He still sat at his desk, completely frozen. His eyes were wide with shock.

I walked over to the desk and rammed my knife down into the wood in front of him. "Give me whatever keys I need right now." I said. The characteristic dangerous edge was moving into my voice. Lt. Parks and Major Redfield stayed back, knowing that this could get messy.

The warden moved like lightning, pulling out a sword from under the desk and swinging it in a wide arc towards my head. I ducked and rolled out of the way. He had overcompensated, and was flung off balance. I took advantage of the opportunity by jumping over the desk and tackling the man into the ground. As he fell, I kicked the sword out of his hands. I landed on top of him, pressing the blade of my knife up to his throat.

"Do you think that I'm some sort of joke?" I asked. "Do you think that I'm gonna fuck around with you and your pussy-ass guards in here? Think again. You're fucking dead if you don't release those prisoners. You have five seconds."

The man whimpered. It was said that a man's true character came out in the seconds before his death. I could see that this man was nothing but a coward with power. He fumbled in his pocket, pulling out a master key. "Just take it." He squealed. "I don't want them, it's not worth it."

"Oh you're not done yet. You're going to take us to the lockup and make sure that we don't get attacked. If we do, you can expect to feel a sharp pain between your shoulder blades, and then the feeling of cold steel pushing through your heart. It will not be pleasant." I pulled out a throwing knife and held it a few inches in front of his face. "I don't ever miss, Warden. So don't try me."

I stood up, and spat on the warden, who was cowering beneath me. "Get up, you piece of shit. I know what you've been doing to my countrymen. You will receive no mercy from me."

The warden stood up slowly, keeping his eye on me. I stepped behind him, pushing the knife up to his skin. "Go, and remember what I said. You so much as look at one of the guards wrong and I'll make you eat your own shit."

The warden complied, and led me through the prison. It took a few minutes to reach the lockup where the prisoners were held in the daytime, but we reached it without any issues. Finally, we reached an outdoor area. The sight of it took my breath away.

The field was sandwiched between three tall buildings, and had a locked up path that led around the side of the prison to the front gate. Everywhere I looked, I saw starving, malnourished prisoners. I recognized some as Hylian, and others as Fajfi. Some were so thin that I couldn't tell.

_How could they have done this to the Hylians in two weeks? This is impossible, unless they've been working non-stop since they got here, with nothing to eat._

"How much do these men and women eat every day?" I asked the warden accusingly.

"Two meals a day." He choked out.

"Don't fuck with me. Give me a real answer you piece of shit."

He stammered for a little bit. I turned him around. "You know that I can kill you right here in less than a second. Don't make me ask again. How much do these people eat each day?"

The renewed threat of death woke the warden's tongue up. "Nothing." He said, looking down at my hand, which rested on my knife's hilt under my tunic.

I stared at him in disbelief, and then looked around the yard. There were forges everywhere, and even the women and children were working them. The men were either forging weapons or digging holes. I looked again at the ones digging.

_Not holes. Graves. _I thought. I wanted to kill the warden. Every part of me did. This man deserved it.

"How many Hylians have died in the last two weeks?" I asked.

The warden stuttered for a second, finally admitting that he had counted over one hundred. I paused for a second, and noticed everyone staring at me. All of the Hylians recognized me, and were puzzled as to my presence. In some eyes, I saw the flames of hope still alive.

"Release all of them. Now. I will not ask you again. You will do it without question, or you will die. Every prisoner in this prison will walk out of the front gate unhindered, or you will die, along with every single guard here." I said menacingly.

The warden didn't take long to think. He walked over to the guards blocking the gate leading to the passage around the building. Hurriedly, he ordered them aside and unlocked the gate.

'There, now just let me go. I don't want anymore of this." The warden said. He looked like he was about to piss himself. The guards to his side did absolutely nothing, however. One actually smiled.

"You stay here, you piece of shit. I'm not done with you." I turned around to the Hylians in the field, who had all stopped what they were doing to stare at me. For a few seconds, they were allowing themselves some hope. It was hope well founded.

I whistled loudly, and pointed at the open gate, signaling for everyone to go through. A herd of the starving Hylians began staggering towards the gate. Some of them were cheering. Others were crying. Major Redfield led them around the building and out the front gate with no trouble. The move took almost an hour. Lt. Parks had gone near the middle of the group, and as I saw the last people headed through the gates, I began pushing the warden along with it.

"What are you doing? I did what you want, now just leave me alone!" He said, struggling against my hold. Again, the guards did nothing to help the man. He was on his own.

"You're going with me for a little bit, just to make sure there's no trouble with the gate guards." I said.

As we passed through the front gate of the prison, I stopped and grabbed my sword from where it still lay next to the wall.

It would be so easy to kill this man now. He deserved it.

But I would not. Just like with Lord Walter, I was not a judge. Every guard here had seen this happen, so it was certain that he would be facing King Duncan's wrath when he found out. I looked back. A herd of guards stood at the gate, looking thoroughly confused. Still, they offered no help to the warden as I pushed him forward.

"Please, just let me go." The warden begged.

I took one last look at him, and then took my hand off my knife. "Go. Change your life if you get a chance. You will not be so lucky the next time I see you." I turned around and walked off.

The warden simply stood in the same spot and stared at me as I walked down the road.

**BREAK**

Guarding eight thousand people was difficult. A group this large could be spotted from miles away, If any bandit group found out how many helpless civilians we had, we would be in trouble.

Lt. Parks used the only workable option. He ordered the soldiers to form a perimeter around the civilians. Even though the lines were stretched thin, we trusted our soldiers in a fight. They would not fall easily when so many lives depended on them.

Feeding the starving Hylians was a different matter all together. None of them had been fed more than bread crumbs in the last two weeks, but we couldn't just feed them as much as they wanted. Their stomachs had contracted, and their bodies were burning less than a thousand calories per day. It would be very easy for them to eat themselves to death. We had to slowly increase the amount of food we were giving them. Each meal would be slightly larger.

By far the most difficult part of the feeding problem was watching the people react to the tiny amounts of food we were giving them. Children cried, women begged, and the men only stared in disbelief. I had tried to explain what was happening to them, but right then, they only understood the hunger pains they were feeling.

Progress down the road was slow. We were making only half the time we had wanted. Too many of the Hylians couldn't walk or could only walk for a limited time. At this pace, we wouldn't reach Castle Town for another week. The longer we were on the road, the higher chance of retaliation from Fajfar, and the higher the chance of rogue bandit clans attacking us.

I found myself sitting in my tent with my head in my hands on the fourth night of travel. I had just finished helping to distribute food to the once again restless Hylians. They were getting about a quarter of a regular meal now, three times per day, and were finally noticing the servings increase. I could tell they all felt better, even though they were still starving. It still hurt, though, to not be able to feed these men and women enough to satisfy them.

Farore peeked her head in my tent. We had to sleep in separate tents to keep up her appearance. For most people, it would be extremely suspicious if they saw who they thought to be a castle advisor sleeping in my tent. For Lt. Parks, it would be a completely different case all together.

"You gonna be all right?" She asked softly. She didn't need to ask what was bothering me.

"Yeah, it's just tough. I see what these people have been through. Now, we have to go on a forced march across Hyrule with eight thousand starving people, who I'm not allowed to feed adequately. They don't make it any easier when they beg for more, and I can't stand to watch the children cry." I said, feeling bad for venting about it.

Farore walked in the tent and closed the flap behind her. She sat down next to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. She leaned her head on my shoulder. "You're doing all you can, Link. Don't beat yourself up about it."

"I know. It's not just me. I can see every single one of the soldiers having trouble with this. One soldier found his wife among the people here. I've never…" I trailed off, remembering the pain in the man's eyes when he had found her.

Farore shushed me, and I wrapped my arms around her. I knew nothing I said would make things better. I looked at the bright side. Not a single person had died due to Farore's healing magic. No matter how badly they had been beaten or abused in the prison, Farore was able to heal them. Even she was feeling fatigued now, though.

We heard a shuffling outside the tent, and quickly separated. Lt. Parks stuck his head in. He squinted at us for a second when he saw how close we had been to each other, but decided to leave the subject alone. "I wanted to ask you a few things, if you don't mind." He was speaking to Farore.

"Yeah, that's fine. If it's pertaining to what Link told you about me, come in, and close the flap behind you. We don't need everyone to find out about that just yet." She said.

The lieutenant came in the tent and closed the flap, as instructed. "Go ahead and sit if you want to." She said. "What's going on?"

Lt. Parks glanced around awkwardly, but sat down. "My lady, I-"

"None of that crap, lieutenant. I'm not a goddess anymore. Relax. I'll do my best to answer your questions. Just don't get all respectful on me." Farore interrupted. I grinned at her outward disregard for societal norms.

The lieutenant looked shocked for a few seconds, but relaxed. "Why are you not a goddess anymore?"

"I gave up my immortality so that I could be here. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to give Link the Triforce or even show up to give him advice." She said. "That's the basics."

Lt. Parks looked extremely confused. "You gave up being a goddess… I guess I'll never understand that one, no matter how you explain it. I just wanted to know about the afterlife, if you would be willing to tell me." He said. Farore paused.

"No, I wouldn't be. I'm sorry, John, but you need to find out about that on your own. There are some things that you're not meant to know until you die. That's one of those things." Farore said. "Don't worry, you're a good man. Just keep doing what you're doing and you have nothing to be concerned about."

Lt. Parks looked immensely relieved when she added the last part. For a while longer, he sat and asked her questions about mortality and death. She didn't answer most of his questions, but he asked anyways. After an hour, he thanked Farore and got up to leave, but stopped.

He started to say something, but looked indecisive. "Go ahead." I said to him. Whatever it was, I doubted Farore would be offended if he asked.

"Is there…Goddesses, this is strange to ask. Is there something…between the two of you? If that's too personal, pretend I didn't ask it. I just see something when you two look at each other. It's something…well, normal people don't look at each other like that." He asked, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "Oh hell, never mind, I shouldn't have asked that. That's not any of my business."

I looked questioningly at Farore. I didn't know if she thought it would be a good idea to tell him anything. She didn't seem to mind, though.

"It's all right." Farore said. "Relax and treat me like a friend rather than a superior. That's what I am. I'm a regular person now. If you think of me like that, rather than a former goddess, it's not so hard to believe that there's something between Link and myself. In answer to your question, yes, there's something between us."

"Alright." Lt. Parks said, still obviously feeling awkward. "I'm going to go check on some other people. Thank you for talking to me about all that stuff tonight."

"You're welcome, John. Just call me Farore. At least in private." She said. "And also, before you go, the answer to the question you didn't ask is yes. She's safe."

"Okay." He said, his eyes tearing up and a smile breaking out on his face. He didn't seem surprised that she had read his mind. "You two have a good night."

He walked out of the tent, and closed the flap behind him. I turned to Farore. "Well that was deep." I said. "What was the question he didn't ask?"

"He wanted to know if his wife was safe. I remember her. She died a few years ago. She was in the militia; it was how the two of them met. She was on gate duty one night in place of a regular soldier who was at home with his wife while she was in labor. A mercenary force attacked the gate, and she died pulling another soldier to safety. It took four arrows to kill her, and she still managed to pull the man to safety and kill five of the enemies before she was finally cut down. That soldier she pulled away lived to go home to his kids because of her." Farore said. "I can't tell the lieutenant details about the afterlife, but I can tell him that she's safe. Din, Nayru, and I met her at the gates of heaven to bring her in. She earned a special place with that kind of courage."

"She did indeed." I said, moved by the story. I hadn't known that the lieutenant had been married, or that he had lived through such a tragedy. It explained why his mood fluctuated sometimes. That was something that no man could ever forget.

"I'm going to go get some rest. I had to do a lot of healing today, and I'm tired." Farore said, and stood up.

I stood up, too. "Alright." I said, and hugged her. She closed her eyes and stayed in my embrace for a while. I guessed that the state of the Hylians was affecting her more than she was letting on. Finally, she looked up and gave me a quick kiss, then left my tent.

**BREAK**

The next few days were uneventful. By the fourth, we were giving the Hylians three half meals every day. By the sixth, they were eating three quarters of a full meal each time. The increased amount of food also meant faster progress. On the ninth day, I recognized the hill country that stood in front of Castle Town. By this time, the Hylians were eating two full meals per day, and one half meal for lunch. Things were looking up. We would only be on the road another two days at most.

On the tenth day, I checked our supplies, and found that we had more than enough to give all the former prisoners three full meals, and decided to try it. The results were spectacular. Morale improved considerably. The Hylians felt better, and were fleshing out. Some of the children had gained back most of the weight they had lost. The adults would take longer, but they all looked better. All of them could walk most of the day, and others helped to carry them when they couldn't.

The peace didn't last forever, unfortunately. Soon after I let the soldiers feed the Hylians their third full meal of the day, a rear scout came charging up the column of people. I waved him down, and he jumped off of his horse, sprinting over to me. He pulled me to the side

"There's a force of about five hundred mounted Fajfi soldiers headed this way. They're half a day away. They don't appear to be stopping to rest, either. They'll be on us before the clock hits three tonight. They look like the guards from the prison, sir." He said to me quietly, not wanting the unarmed, defenseless Hylian prisoners to hear.

"Thank you for telling me." I said. "Go get something to eat and prepare yourself. It looks like we're going to be fighting tonight."

The scout nodded, grabbed his horse's reigns, and walked towards the front of the column. I began searching for Lt. Parks or Major Redfield, and found the latter within minutes. I pulled him aside and told him the news.

The major furrowed his brow. "They couldn't just let this go easily, could they? Well, we better quietly prepare the soldiers, so that the regular people don't panic. If you go find Lieutenant Parks and tell him, I'll start preparing the defenses." He said, and then paused. "Actually, you prepare the defenses and I'll find the lieutenant. I forget sometimes that I was an enemy soldier two weeks ago. He may not trust me with the well being of his forces just yet. We probably need to have everyone march through the night, though. That way we can at least buy them enough time to get to Castle Town."

I nodded, understanding his reasoning, and he set off towards the center of the column in search of Lt. Parks. I went the opposite direction, hoping to find Farore. After a few minutes of searching, I found her sleeping in her tent.

I shook her to wake her up, and she rolled over to face me. She had been in a deep sleep. "What is it?" She asked groggily.

"There's five hundred mounted Fajfi soldiers headed this way. They're going to be here tonight. We're going to need your magic." I said, feeling bad for waking her up.

Farore sat up quickly, her eyes going wide. "Oh no." She said. "Oh, shit, this isn't good."

"What is it?" I asked, getting worried.

"Link, I've been healing people nonstop for ten days straight. I had to stop today. Even I have limits. I can't use any more magic right now. I won't be able to for at least a week." She said, getting panicky.

I looked at her for a second, but accepted what she was saying. "Alright, I'll manage. I still have the Triforce. I'll just have to use it." I said.

"Are you sure you're rested enough?" She asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm really sorry, but you can't go back to sleep. We need to get these people moving. If you can't use magic, can you stay with them?" I asked. I felt guilty telling her that she couldn't sleep. I knew how much magic she had been using recently, and she had to have been exhausted.

Farore got up from her mat. "It's fine, don't worry. It's not your fault. I'll do my best to protect these people in the event of an emergency. I might have enough left in me to create a light show to scare the enemy soldiers or something if it comes to that. If that doesn't work, I always have my sword."

"Thank you, Farore." I said, and embraced her tightly. She wrapped her arms around me.

"Stay safe, Link. Don't you dare get yourself hurt while I can't heal you. I didn't come down here just for you to get killed by a few Fajfi soldiers before even a month has passed." She said, then leaned up and gave me a quick kiss.

"Don't worry about me. If they want to kill me, they'll have to send a lot more than five hundred soldiers." I said, and kissed Farore again.

We parted, knowing we both had business to attend to. Within an hour, Lt. Parks had mobilized a defense. All of Major Redfield's men and the half of our force that was supposed to break off and head to Kakariko would fall back and prepare for the arrival of the Fajfi forces. The major's forces would be hiding in the tree line off to the sides of the road, and would flank the enemies when they attacked the front. We would surround them and cut them all down quickly.

That was the plan, as far as everyone else knew. I had my own plan, though. I would be moving further down the road, keeping hidden from my men. I would go about a mile out, and use the Triforce on the enemies before they got anywhere near the Hylian forces. I would not allow any of my men to die tonight if I could help it.

The night passed slowly. The Hylians grumbled as they were forced to get up and start moving again, but complied. Many of them wanted to know why they had to move through the night, but Lt. Parks had decided not to tell them so that nobody panicked and caused absolute chaos. The soldiers assigned to guard them formed their perimeter, and the rest fell back. By eleven, we were moving out, and had reached our defensible position within an hour. Now, I had to play the waiting game.

I had left Epona with Farore, so that it would be less obvious when I slipped away. I had also put on my dark gray tunic, so that I would blend in with the night better. As Major Redfield's men moved by us to get into the trees on the side of the road, I slipped in with them, and moved up to the front. Once there, I walked with them, and made a point to be the farthest man in front.

The private behind me was easily distracted, which made it easy for me to slip away and begin moving down the road through the trees. By one in the morning, I had already put a good distance between my allies and myself. When I had gone well over two miles in front of them, I stepped out into the road to wait.

My breath fogged up in the chilly air, and I shivered. The night sky was clear, and I could see for miles, even though there was no moon. The Triforce was granting me heightened senses. I waited for what felt like hours.

After what seemed like forever, I heard hoof beats, as well as the slight murmur of conversation. Over a distant hill, I could see the faint red glow of torchlight.

_This is it. _I thought to myself. _You had better be prepared for this._

I waited patiently as the first riders made their way over the hill. I examined their armor, and it appeared that the scout had been right. They wore the same armor as the prison guards had. They, no doubt, had realized that they would have been executed for their failure to contain the prisoners, and had come to reclaim them before King Duncan caught wind of what had happened.

They rode closer, and after a few minutes, I could see the full force. All of them were mounted, but I didn't see the warden anywhere. That puzzled me. If these were the prison guards, I had thought that he would be the first one in line. Even when they were a measly quarter mile ahead of me, I still couldn't see him.

The men still hadn't seen me. Their horses weren't moving fast, so I waited until they were almost on top of me before doing anything. When the first rider was a little over fifty meters away, I held up my palm and called forth an explosion of golden light around myself. I lit myself up so that they could all see me.

The rider at the front of the column called for the rest of the cavalry to halt. They did as they were told, and for a few moments, they all stared at me. Finally, the rider at the front moved forward.

_He's got some guts. _I thought, watching the lone figure ride towards me slowly.

"Who goes there?" The man called out to me as he drew closer.

"I would ask that of you." I called back. "You invade my home, hold my countrymen captive, work them to death, and expect to walk through my country unhindered?"

The man stopped his horse ten meters away from me and dismounted, leaving his sword strapped to the saddle. I sheathed mine in return, as an act of good faith. The soldier looked at me nervously. The gold light was radiating out from my body as if I were the source of the light. I doubted that he had ever seen such a thing before.

Instead of staying far back, the soldier moved towards me, and held out his hand. "I'm Captain Daniel Records of the fifth Fajfar prison division."

I took his hand and shook it, surprised by how courteous he was. I was having serious doubts as to the danger of this group. Had they been here to destroy, they would have tried to ride me down.

"I'm Lieutenant Link of Hyrule. Why are you here, Captain?" I asked, getting to the point quickly. There was no reason for me to stretch this ordeal out.

"I recognize you. You were the one who freed all the Hylian prisoners, weren't you?" He asked me.

"Yes. Answer my question, Captain. Why are you here?" I asked again.

The Captain sighed, seeing that I wasn't going to be one for small talk and niceties. "We're the prison guards from Stony Point Prison. We abandoned the place shortly after you took all the Hylians."

"Yes, I assumed that much." I spat out. "What's your point? If you're here to beg forgiveness from them, it's going to take a lot more than that."

The Captain looked taken aback for a second, but also seemed to understand my attitude about the situation. "Lieutenant, I know what we did was absolutely terrible, but please understand that King Duncan… He… He has our families. I don't want this to be some sob story, or an excuse for how the Hylians were treated, but we want to make up for that somehow. I see now that we aren't the only ones with families and friends."

I wasn't surprised by what he said. Most men didn't want to do those kinds of things to other people, but could easily be forced to when their families were threatened. I softened my tone, seeing now that these men weren't here to harm anyone. "How did you plan on doing that?" I asked him.

"I hoped that we could join the fight against King Duncan. I can also offer connections in what remains of King Duncan's forces. I have hundreds of official documents from the warden's office. Some of those documents are correspondence between the king and the warden. I also have a document that mentions a future attack on Kakariko. It's a different one than the small force that attacked you." The captain said.

"You're trying to help us?" I asked, and began using the Triforce to probe into his mind for lies. I was surprised by how easy it was.

"Yes." He said. "All these men behind me are here because we've seen Fajfar crater under King Duncan's rule. The man is obsessed with power. He's lost half his military to Hyrule without an actual major confrontation, yet he doesn't seem to notice at all. He just sends more troops. He shows no regard for human life whatsoever. All he cares about is expanding his power. That's no kind of ruler." I sensed no lies in his words.

I let the golden light die. Whatever he had done in the past could be worked out later. Hyrule needed help right now, and I wasn't one to turn it away. "Alright, I can see that you're telling the truth, Captain. This isn't my decision to make, though. Bring your men with you. We're going to see Lieutenant Parks and Major Redfield."

"All right." He said. He mounted his horse and whistled to his men, who began riding up behind him. Once they were formed up, I began walking forward quickly.

When we were nearing the ambush site, I had the captain halt his men once more. I turned to him. "We had an ambush prepared about a hundred feet ahead, thinking you were an enemy force. Leave your men here. I don't want any mistakes being made on either side. I'll take you to Lieutenant Parks."

Captain Records looked at his men nervously, and then back at me. He looked as if he was about to say something, but stopped and dismounted.

I understood what he was afraid of. "Captain, I'm not going to harm someone who comes here in peace. I'm especially not going to harm a potential ally. I just need to make sure that every soldier in the trees understands that they will not be ambushing your men before we take them all in there. You can wait here and I could bring the lieutenant to you if you're more comfortable with that."

The captain thought for a second, and then shook his head. "No, I might as well trust you. If I can't do that, I shouldn't be trying to join forces with you."

I nodded, and walked down the path. As we entered the forested area, I began calling out to the various groups I passed to relax and move out onto the road. They were confused at first, but did as I said. I moved the short distance up the path, and saw the main force of men blocking my sight ahead. I called out to them, yelling for Lt. Parks.

After a few seconds, I saw a figure break away from the column of soldiers and move towards me. It was the lieutenant. As he got closer, he called out to me. "Link? Is that you? Where the hell did you run off to? And who…Oh." He paused when he saw the crest of Fajfar on the captain's armor.

"This is Captain Daniel Records from the Fajfar's fifth prison division." I said. "He has a request." The captain moved forward to shake Lt. Parks's hand

"I see." The lieutenant said, returning the handshake. "Where's the rest of your force, captain?"

"They stayed behind at Lieutenant Link's request." He said.

"All right. What's your request, captain?" Parks asked.

"I would like to join your forces." Records said. "I can offer you five hundred men and seven hundred horses, as well as hundreds of documents recovered from the warden of Stony Point Prison. Some of those documents contain important information about the war effort in Fajfar. Lastly, I have connections in the rest of Fajfar's military. They may come in handy."

"And in return?" Lt. Parks asked. He had visibly perked up at this news.

"I just want a chance to help make up for what I did to those people in the prison." The captain said. "If you let me fight under your banner, I will. If you need help rebuilding, I will. My men and I are yours to command, should you wish. All I ask is that you not execute any one of my men. We fled that kind of fear in Fajfar, and I don't want a single one of them to have to face it here."

"That I can promise, Captain. We aren't into executions in Hyrule." Lt. Parks said. "Go get your men. We can iron out the details tomorrow. Tonight, we can give you what little food and shelter we can offer, and you can march with us to Castle Town, or what's left of it. There, you can help Major Redfield's forces rebuild until we're ready to march against Fajfar."

Captain Records looked absolutely shocked. "That's it?" He asked, staring at Lt. Parks in disbelief.

The lieutenant nodded. "I'm not inclined to turn down help. Hyrule has nearly fallen. The only thing standing in between King Duncan and total control is Kakariko. If you want to join me in the fight for my country, I will give my full recommendation to the king to have all of your war crimes forgiven and for all of you become citizens of Hyrule after this is all over."

The captain actually smiled, and thanked Lt. Parks profusely, before leaving with a small escort of soldiers to return to his men. Lt. Parks turned to me.

"Where the hell did you go?"

"I went ahead." I said simply.

"Damn it, Link. Don't do that, you scared the crap out of everyone. What if that had been an actual enemy force? You could have been killed in a heartbeat." He chastised me.

"Lieutenant, you forgot about something." I said softly, and held up my left hand. He seemed to understand what I meant.

"Is it that powerful?" He asked quietly. I nodded.

"I'm going back to camp to tell them to stop moving now that we're safe." I said. "I'll see you when you get back. You might want to have the captain's soldiers ditch the armor so that the Hylians don't recognize them."

"Will do." Lt. Parks said, and nodded. "See you back at camp. Ride safe."

**BREAK**

The prison guards mixed in with the Hylians well. They kept their former identities a secret, and mingled with the Hylian soldiers. They helped to distribute food, and were useful in bolstering the perimeter we had formed around the civilians. The extra horses lifted the burden of carrying supplies off of the worn out horses and mules we had. Overall, Captain Records had ended up being a blessing.

Progress had sped up considerably now that the Hylians could eat three full meals every day. At midday during the eleventh day of travel, I saw the peaks of what was left of Hyrule Castle in the distance over the hills. All of the Hylians had already been told the fate of Castle Town, so I decided not to hinder progress by giving a speech.

As we topped the final hills, I could hear gasps run through the crowd. No amount of words could have prepared them for what they were seeing now. I was almost immediately put under a barrage of questions, none of which I answered. Answers wouldn't change what had happened here.

One bright side to the town was that Major Redfield's soldiers had already started repairing the place. I could see that the wall was patched up in most places, and the gate had been replaced. It was now made of steel. Behind it, I could see buildings beginning to come up. The guardhouse and town hall were almost done.

As we made our way closer to Castle Town, Farore rode up behind me. She called my name to get my attention, and gestured away from the people I was riding next to, wanting some privacy. I rode over to her.

"Link, what exactly were we going to do after we got these people here? We never had a plan for that." She said.

I paused. I had thought about this briefly before releasing the Hylians, but it hadn't crossed my mind since. "Well, we might need to rest here for awhile. If you can't use your magic, I'm inclined to wait until you can before we set out. We could go scout out Lake Hylia or Zora's Domain to see what we can do."

"Good idea." She said. "I should be alright in a few more days. It won't take a full week like I thought it would. I'm thinking Zora's Domain should be first on our priority list, since there's a lot of Zoras living there. Lake Hylia doesn't have much of a population."

"I'll trust your judgment." I said. "Has anyone found out about the Ellen Glenn name conflict yet?"

"Surprisingly, no. I've still been using her identity for these past weeks, and nobody ever doubted me besides the lieutenant." She said.

"That's good." I replied. "All right, I'm going to go help the lieutenant put these people places. Why don't you find us a place to sleep for the night and get some rest?"

"Okay." Farore said, and reached over to take my hand. "We're almost there, Link. Stay strong."

I smiled at her and squeezed her hand affectionately. She let go, and rode back to her spot in the column. I looked forward again. We were almost to the open gate now.

We were almost home.

**END**

**Whew, that was a long chapter. I just couldn't find a good place to stop it.**

**REVIEW MY STORY! I haven't had a review since I posted chapter 9. Even then, it was only one. Seriously, review every chapter. It would make me happy.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hope you all had a great Christmas! I wrote another monster chapter for you people.**

**Shout outs go to The Silver Swordsman and Pamphy. Both of them wrote great reviews, and TSS has a few LoZ fanfics he's written/in the process of writing that I would recommend.**

**Also, I'm going to shamelessly admit that until I wrote this chapter, I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do with the whole Zelda/Jack storyline. I definitely like the way this chapter turned out, though. **

**The end gets raunchy again, so this is your advanced warning.**

**Everybody please review!**

**Vivi**

**START**

Chapter 12

Zelda woke to an ear-splitting scream, and bolted out of bed. She groped around for the walking stick she had in her room, should she have to defend herself. When she finally found it, she stood to the side of her bedroom door and watched the window from across the room.

It was dark outside, but she could make out the shapes of the trees moving back and forth peacefully in the wind. The scream seemed so out of place. She hadn't heard anything like that since she had shown up in the Sacred Realm.

She looked under the door to see if the fireplace was still burning, but saw nothing. The small cabin seemed to be completely dark.

_That's wrong. Someone is almost always up all night since we don't actually have to sleep. _She thought to herself.

Zelda's heart missed a beat when she heard footsteps slowly approaching her door from the main room. She lifted the stick and pulled it over to her side, preparing to swing it whatever intruder dared to wake her up. The footsteps stopped outside her door, and she felt like she was about to explode

_Stay strong, Zelda. _She told herself. _You promised yourself that you wouldn't let other people save you from now on._

The handle clicked as someone touched it, then began to slowly turn. Once it had turned all the way, it creaked open. A head poked around the corner.

Zelda let out a guttural roar and smashed the stick down onto the intruder's face. Whoever it was grunted and fell back into the living room. He yelled out in pain and dropped to the floor. Zelda rushed out, ready to beat the man's brain out of his skull.

"Zelda!" She heard the man yell. "Stop! It's just me!"

Zelda froze in her tracks at the sound of the voice. "Oh, goddesses, Jack. I'm so sorry!" She ran over to where he lay on the floor. "Are you all right?"

"How did you hit me that hard?" He asked, stunned.

The king burst out of his room. "What the hell is going on in here?"

"Your daughter just beat the crap out of me with a stick." Jack said, and groaned as he touched his forehead.

"Well I see how effective all your training was." Curt said as he walked over to the fireplace, threw a few logs in, and started to get the fire going so that they could all see.

"Hold still, Jack." Zelda said, and pulled him over to the growing flame so that she could see. As the light grew brighter, she could see that she had hit him square across the forehead. The whole upper half of his face was swelling up. "Damn it, why did you sneak in my room like that? And what the hell was that scream?"

"I was making sure you were all right." Jack groaned again, as Zelda started digging through their supplies for a makeshift bandage. "I thought you were screaming, but I guess it wasn't you."

Zelda found a long strip of cloth that would cover up the broken skin. "No, that wasn't me. It sounded like it came from outside the front door." She said. She began bandaging his forehead. After a few minutes, she pinned the back. The fire was roaring by now.

Jack squinted at the front door, and turned to ask the king if he had heard it, only to find that he had gone back in the bedroom to continue sleeping. He had even left the prod in the fire.

_Must have been in a big hurry. _He thought, then looked nervously at the front door again. "Should I go check outside?" He asked.

"Certainly not. Whatever we heard would have come in here by now if it intended to harm-"

Zelda was interrupted as the door was flung wide open. She froze, not knowing what to do. Jack leaped to his feet and stared at the doorframe. Through it, they could see a figure robed entirely in black. Its face was covered entirely by the enormous hood it wore, but it seemed to stare at them. After a few seconds, it stepped in the room.

Zelda wanted to scream, but she was too scared. She wanted to move, but found that her feet were frozen to the floor. The figure moved towards her, and drew a sword out from underneath its robe.

Zelda backed up to the fireplace with Jack, who pushed her behind himself. The robed figure paused, turning his head toward Jack. When it spoke, its voice came as a whisper from all directions.

"This doesn't concern you, mortal." The phantom said to Jack. "Lord Ganon wants the girl. Step aside."

Zelda wanted to throw up. Ganondorf had found them. She should have known that this would happen. It had been months since they had seen the temple of the Sacred Realm surrounded by the burning valley. She knew should have expected that he would have found her by then.

Jack quickly leaned down and picked up the walking stick I had dropped on the ground, and then stepped towards the phantom. "Like hell it doesn't concern me. If you want her, you can take her over my dead body." His courage pulled Zelda out of her stupor.

"Very well." The phantom's voice sounded again. It raised its sword as it stepped towards Jack, but Zelda stepped out from behind him. Waving her hands in the air, she unleashed a burst of wind towards the phantom, which hit him square in the chest.

The phantom flew back across the living room and into the kitchen, landing on the ground. Jack turned around and picked up the red-hot prod that had been left in the fireplace. He rushed the phantom as it tried to stand up, but was forced to block a slash aimed for his gut. Sparks flew as the rod met with the phantom's sword.

Jack pivoted on his feet, and then drove the rod down towards the phantom's chest. The thrust was blocked, but caught on the phantom's robe, which immediately began to smoke. Jack didn't stop his attack. He threw blow after blow in rapid succession. Twice more, he caught pieces of the phantom's robe, causing it to smoke both times.

Finally, Jack managed to break the phantom's defense, and smashed the rod into its face. The air was immediately torn apart by the same ear-splitting scream Zelda had heard before, and the phantom caught on fire. The rod had been driven all the way out the back of its head, but still the hood did not fall off. Jack picked up the sword that the phantom had dropped and swung it around in a wide arc that sent the phantom's head flying.

The head disappeared as it flew, dropping the iron rod to the ground. Zelda looked over to the body, and watched as it burned away rapidly. Within seconds, there was nothing left except for the rod on the floor, and the sword Jack held in his hands.

"What the hell was that?" Jack finally choked out. He sat down in a corner, putting his head in his hands.

Zelda didn't know what to say. She owed Jack her life. Without his courage, she would have been captured, killed, or worse. She paused. "I don't know, but it said Ganondorf wants me. We need to get out of here, right now. Ganondorf will not wait around."

Jack looked up at her. "Whoever's idea it was to send that man here is just an all around genius." He said bitterly, and stood up. "Where will we go?"

His comment stung, since Zelda was the one who had done that. But she understood his frustration, and knew that he hadn't meant it as a backhanded insult. He just didn't know that she had been the one forced to seal away the King of Evil.

"I don't know. Just not anywhere close to here. Let's try to move south. We probably need to go as far away from Ganondorf as possible." Zelda said, then stopped. "Where's my dad?"

Jack paused. He looked over at the bedroom door. It was wide open, just like it had been when the phantom had come in the house. "There's no way he slept through that. He couldn't even have been asleep by the time that thing came in here."

"Oh, goddesses." Zelda murmured, and burst into the bedroom. "Dad?" She called.

She was greeted by silence. Jack walked in the room behind her. "Where is he?" He asked quietly.

The two of them stared at the king's empty bed. Nothing seemed to be out of place in the room, but they had definitely not seen him leave the house.

Zelda stared at the empty room for a few seconds, then turned around. "Pack up quickly, we need to leave." She said.

"Where's the king?" Jack asked, getting slightly panicked.

"I don't know." Zelda said honestly. "But he's not here. We need to get out of here. We can find him later."

It pained her to say that, but she knew that they needed to leave. They couldn't turn the house inside out looking for the king when it was obvious that he wasn't there. She just hoped that Ganondorf hadn't used the phantom as a distraction while he captured her father. Every second that passed made the idea seem more likely, though.

Jack and Zelda packed up and were out of the door within five minutes. They started down the southernmost trail, trying to put distance between themselves and Ganondorf's area of the Sacred Realm.

After a few hours of traveling, the sun began to rise in the east, and provided Zelda with a sense of direction. The two of them decided to sit down for a little while to try to figure out what had happened.

Zelda almost immediately broke out into tears, and buried her face in her hands. Her father's disappearance had begun weighing heavily on her, and she had been holding her emotions back until now.

Jack looked at Zelda a little awkwardly. He had never seen her break down like this before, but decided to move over to her and attempt to console her. As he moved close to Zelda, she wrapped her arms around him and began crying into his shoulder, unable to control her emotions any longer.

They sat there for a while. Jack said nothing, knowing that he couldn't make the situation any better with words. Finally, Zelda calmed down, and wiped her eyes with her shirt.

"I'm sorry, Jack. I shouldn't be sitting here crying about my father going missing." She said, and then paused. "Thank you."

Jack nodded, placing his hand over hers. "We all need to let our emotions out sometimes."

Zelda smiled halfheartedly and squeezed Jack's hand. "Yeah, I guess so. We need-"

Zelda stopped what she was saying and stared behind Jack in abject terror. He quickly spun around, grabbed his sword, and hopped to his feet. In front of him was what appeared to be the King of Evil. Jack quickly swung his sword through the man's chest, but found that it passed right through him.

"You can save your energy, soldier." Ganondorf said. "How fortunate for you two that this is an apparition."

Jack stepped back, but kept his sword raised. Zelda spoke first. "What do you want with me? We're not in Hyrule anymore. You have nothing to gain by tormenting us."

Ganondorf laughed maniacally. "You misunderstand, Zelda. You never really did understand what I wanted, did you?"

Zelda just glared at the apparition as it spoke again. "I didn't want Hyrule. I _had _Hyrule. I wanted the full Triforce. I wanted you. But most of all, I wanted that pathetic savior of yours dead."

Zelda looked like she was about to throw up. "You wanted _me?_ You're an animal, Ganondorf. You're sick. You could never have me. Your lust for power was what made you fail. That, and you underestimated Link."

"SILENCE!" Ganondorf roared. "I _will _complete the Triforce and claim it as my own, no matter what it takes. This time, though, I think I'll start with your piece. I should have done that last time."

Zelda looked at Ganondorf, slightly puzzled. She saw Jack giving him the same look, but willed him to keep his mouth shut. Ganondorf was obviously under the impression that he and Zelda both had their pieces of the Triforce. If that were the case, he would go to the great ends to keep her alive so that he could pull the sacred triangle from her. If he found out that she didn't have it, he would kill them without hesitation.

"You'll never get the Triforce of Wisdom from me." Zelda said with certainty.

"We'll see about that. Your father is with me in the Temple of the Sacred Realm. It would be in his best interest if you came to me and gave up your piece of the Triforce. If you don't cooperate, I'll kill him." Ganondorf said, and laughed maniacally again. "I'll be seeing you soon."

Zelda's eyes went wide, but Ganondorf's apparition disappeared as soon as she opened her mouth to start screaming profanities at him. Jack looked at the empty spot in disgust, wishing he could have run the man through with his sword.

Zelda went over to the nearest tree and leaned back on it, trying to shake the adrenaline rush she had gotten at the sight of the King of Evil. "How are we supposed to handle this, Jack? I don't have my piece of the Triforce anymore. I can't give it to him, and I wouldn't even if I did. We can't just walk…" She looked up, and noticed Jack walking off the trail aimlessly. "Where are you going?"

Jack didn't respond. He just kept walking. Zelda jumped up and ran after him as he went into the trees. Catching up to him, she grabbed his shoulder and tried to turn him around. "Jack, what are you doing?" She asked frantically. He didn't turn or respond. Zelda tried again once more, to no avail, and then decided to follow him.

She followed Jack through the forest for what felt like hours. She couldn't see the sun through the thick canopy of trees, which made time drag by slowly. On top of that, she was scared. Jack wasn't acting like this of his own accord. He was being controlled by something; that much was obvious by now.

Finally, Jack led Zelda onto a small game trail, and then dropped to the ground, groaning. Zelda ran to him, kneeling beside him. "Are you all right?"

Jack squinted up at her. "I don't know, am I?"

"You tell me. You just marched through the forest for hours without saying a word." Zelda said.

Jack looked up at her surprised. "I did?"

Zelda nodded, then looked at the trail they had walked upon. Ten feet to the east, it ended. To the west, it stretched around a corner. "You brought us to a game trail in the middle of the forest. I don't exactly know how to get back, either."

Jack groaned and got to his feet, looking down the trail in either direction. "Well, I guess we'd better follow the trail. Not like we have another choice. I don't remember anything from when you leaned against that tree back on the main trail, so there's no way I'm getting us back."

Zelda nodded. They could blindly wander through this forest, or wander along this path, hoping that whatever had put Jack here was a friendly force, and not an enemy. Jack lifted the phantom's sword and began walking westward.

The trail wasn't long. Just around the corner, it opened up into a meadow, and a faint white mist could be seen on the other side.

Jack stopped. "Do we walk into the creepy white mist?"

Zelda nodded. "We don't have another choice, unless we want to wander around aimlessly in the forest. Let's just pray that this meadow has some answers for us."

Jack walked forward without hesitation.

_He certainly does have a lot of courage. _Zelda thought. _First stepping in between that phantom and me, and now walking into possible danger without a second thought._

As the two of them walked into the mist, it cleared around them. Slowly, Zelda began to make out a shape on the far end of the meadow. Jack saw it, too, and began walking towards it. As they got closer, Zelda was able to make out what it was, and gasped.

Jack turned squinted at the object, curious as to what had elicited such a strong reaction from Zelda. "What is that?" He asked.

Zelda grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards the shape. "You don't know what this is?" She asked. For the first time in months, she was overjoyed.

Jack looked at the shape again, and his mouth nearly hit the ground as they moved closer. There, sitting in a stone at the end of the meadow, was a sword with a blue hilt and the symbol of the Triforce engraved in it. The silver blade seemed to glow in the faint light of the meadow, giving it an air of mystery.

The Master Sword.

Jack and Zelda couldn't help but stop and stare for a while. The sword was magnificent. It was not often that a mortal was allowed to look upon the sword, much less be this close to it. Everyone knew what it looked like, though. There were paintings of it everywhere in Hyrule.

When Link had put the sword back in the stone in the Temple of Time and closed the door, Zelda had expected to never see it again in her lifetime. Yet here it was in front of her. The same sword that had killed Ganon, as well as countless other enemies of Hyrule, was in front of her.

Zelda slowly walked up to the sword, and reached out her hand, ready to grasp the hilt and pull it out of its pedestal.

_Not you. _A whisper ran through her head, making her quickly withdraw her hand in shock. _The other._

Zelda looked around at Jack in shock. He stood nervously, unsure of what to do.

"Come here." She said. When he complied, she pulled his hand forward and laid it on the hilt of the sacred blade.

Jack suddenly furrowed his brow, staring at the blade. "What is this voice?" He asked Zelda, slightly concerned.

"It's the blade." She said. "It wants you."

Jack looked back at the hilt. Gripping it, he gave a mighty heave. With a loud ring, the sword came free of the pedestal, and seemed to light up the air around them. Jack was dumbfounded. He lifted the sword up, and then stared at it, as if not believing what had just happened.

"Am I dreaming?" He asked.

"I hope not." Zelda replied. She stared at the Master Sword. This blade was the answer to all their problems. With it, they could defeat Ganondorf and rid the world of his presence.

"Does this mean…" Jack trailed off.

"Yes, you were chosen by the goddesses to wield this in a time of need." Zelda said. "This is our answer. If this sword runs through Ganondorf, he'll die. I saw it reflect the man's magic when he fought Link. And, obviously, it's sentient. Link never mentioned that small detail."

"No matter." Jack murmured, and stepped aside as a glowing light appeared at his feet, depositing the sword's sheathe. He picked it up, and put the sword in. After strapping the setup to his belt, he looked up at Zelda. "We need to go save your father. If we have the means to kill Ganondorf, let's not wait until it's too late."

Zelda sighed at the mention of her father. She wished she'd have kept an eye on him during the fight so as to prevent this from happening. She pushed her personal feelings aside, though. They wouldn't help her now.

"Yeah I guess so." Zelda replied to Jack. "I hope you know how to use that. It's only as powerful as its master lets it be."

Jack began walking to a new trail that led north out of the meadow, followed closely by Zelda. "Well, as long as I get in close to this guy, I'll kill him." Zelda nodded.

_Anything for you, Zelda. _Jack thought to himself.

They set out down the trail, preparing themselves for the long journey ahead.

**BREAK**

As much as Farore had wanted to head out of Castle Town, I hadn't been comfortable leaving until she was at full strength, which didn't happen for six days. By then, much of Castle Town was habitable. The soldiers of Major Redfield's division worked hard. With the help of the prison guards and the Hylian soldiers, the town was once again becoming a hive of activity. With so many people working, the buildings were rebuilt and repaired incredibly fast. Never before had so many people from so many places worked together in such perfect tandem. The results were astounding.

On the seventh day, Farore swore to me that she was at full strength, and we moved out of our makeshift residence, hoping to move on to Zora's Domain. But not before we were waylaid.

As we walked to the stables, a middle-aged woman with graying, long hair approached us. She was still fairly gaunt, marking her as one of the former prisoners. She looked nervous, but determined. I paused, seeing that she had something to say. I nodded to her, hoping that she would feel less nervous about approaching.

The nod worked. The woman crossed the small distance between us and shook our hands.

"I… I'm Ellen Glenn." She said, looking at Farore.

"Oh crap." I said quietly, looking nervously at Farore.

"I guess I owe you an explanation." Farore said, and looked around for a quiet place.

"No, it's all right." The castle advisor said hurriedly. "I'm not mad, just curious. I heard that our most powerful wizard was impersonating me, and I just wanted to know why."

Farore looked at Ellen for a few seconds, and sighed. "Ellen, I wish I could tell you why. I really do. But you'll find out one day. I promise you will."

Ellen nodded, seeming to expect the answer. She had obviously dealt with mages before. "Can I ask you a favor, then?"

Farore looked a little surprised, but nodded.

"I heard that you two were headed to Zora's Domain. If that's true, could you look for my son? He's half Zora, half Hylian. His name is Jared. Please, make sure he's safe. I can't fight, and I don't know what fate fell upon his father. I've…been so worried." Ellen said, tearing up as she did so. "I was hoping that he would be safe there, but it looks like King Duncan wants total control of Hyrule, not just the capital. He's only fourteen, I…"

Farore took Ellen's hand carefully, effectively silencing the mother as she began to cry.

"We'll find him." Farore said, lifting Ellen's chin and looking her in the eye. "It's the least we can do for you."

Ellen smiled, though she was still crying, and hugged Farore, whispering "Thank you so much."

Farore held the grieving mother for a while, and separated, saying, "We'd better go. The longer we wait, the more danger the Zoras are in."

Ellen nodded, and looked at me. "Thank you, Link." She said. "You never get tired of saving us, do you?"

I looked at her, slightly puzzled. Very few people knew of my previous involvement in the Imprisoning War with Ganondorf. As far as I knew, only the Royal Family, the sages, and myself remembered it.

"How do you-"

"I was the one who approved your knighthood. The king's advisors were in a split decision when it came to the vote. I was going to vote nay, because we hadn't been given a reason. I went to the king in private and he told me. Quite proudly, in fact. I cast the vote that passed you into knighthood the next day." Ellen said, with a small smile.

"I owe you, then." I said. "Thank you. And you have my word that we will come back with your son, or die trying."

Ellen smiled wider, but still had tears in her eyes. "No, thank _you, _Link. You two should go. Please, be safe."

We both nodded, and set off down the road. Once we were out of ear shot, I spoke.

"I didn't even know half Zora children were possible." I said, looking at Farore.

"Oh, they are. Zoras are almost completely the same as humans genetically. They just don't get out much, and when they do, it's a very rare occasion that they're around a Hylian long enough to bond." She said as we entered the stables.

I quickly found Epona and saddled her. As I pulled myself up onto her back, I found Farore waiting for me outside the stable.

"You ready to head out?" She asked.

"Born ready." I said. She smiled at my use of her misworded battle phrase from outside Kakariko. "And unlike some special people, I was actually born."

Farore chuckled, and we nudged our horses into an easy lope, headed southeast.

**BREAK**

Jack quietly reflected on the events of the past few months as he walked north with Zelda. They were both silent; the past few days had been weighing heavily on their minds.

Jack had moved on to something else, though. He had spent so much time with Zelda, he couldn't help but think about her endlessly in what could turn out to be the last few days of his life. Ganondorf was obviously powerful if he could destroy the Sacred Realm even without the Triforce of Power. Jack knew that he probably wouldn't stand a chance against the man.

_But hell if I'm gonna let that stop me. _He thought. _It's worth it._

After spending the last few months with the princess, Jack had fallen completely head over heels for her. He couldn't get her off of his mind. She was always there. Her sweet, yet sassy attitude. Her laugh. Her smile. Her empathy. Her wisdom. All combined to make her a sort of dream girl for the former guard. He hoped against hope that he would live through this so that he would have a chance to at least let her know how he felt about her.

_You should tell her now. What does it matter if you're probably going to die? _The voice in the back of his head nagged, but he pushed it away.

_She doesn't feel the same way for me. _He told himself. _She's already with Link. I'm just a bodyguard. He's a hero. He's skilled, powerful, and many other things._

_But Link is independent. She's expressed her frustration with him more than just a few times since you two have been around each other._ The voice nagged again.

_What is this? Is this some trick from the Master Sword? Is that you talking to me, or am I just going insane? _Jack thought, as he realized he was carrying on a conversation with the voice in his head.

_No. _Came a separate voice. This one was merely a whisper. _I am here to help you in battle. What happens outside of that is your business. My only purpose is to protect the Sacred Realm. I will not trick your mind with affairs that have no relevance to the Sacred Realm._

_Well that's nice to know. _Jack thought sarcastically. _Maybe I _am _just going insane, then._

_Doubtful. _The Master Sword said to him. _I wouldn't have appeared for you had you been a madman._

_Oh, I'm relieved._

_If I had the ability to know what relief felt like, I'd be happy to share my sympathies with you. As for right now, though, I cannot feel relief. Or happiness, for that matter._

_You're just a real happy freakin' ray of sunshine, aren't you? _Jack thought.

_Yes, a happy freakin' ray of sunshine indeed. _The sword said, before leaving his mind.

Jack had to admit, he was slightly amused. The sword seemed to have a small sense of humor, which was much appreciated. He couldn't keep his mind off of Zelda for long, though.

For hours, he waged a mental war with himself. His common sense said that he should not tell Zelda about his feelings for her. She wouldn't share them, and it would make the last few days of his life awkward with her. He wouldn't want that.

But one small part of his brain wouldn't quit nagging him, telling him that he should live with no regrets. He had always lived with no regrets. He hadn't beaten himself apart at the loss of his wife and son. He had simply moved on, and taken a profession that would allow him to make sure other people never suffered the same kind of pain he had.

That small part of his brain screamed the loudest. His common sense finally managed to almost silence it completely, when Zelda spoke for the first time in hours.

"Jack, can we sit down for awhile?" She asked as they entered a small clearing.

Jack looked up quickly. "Oh, yeah, sure. Are you all right?"

"I think so. I just…well it's finally hitting me that we could all die and…I don't know. In the past, I've always had someone coming to save me_. _Now, we have to take care of ourselves without the hope of help." She said.

Jack moved over to a large tree. Zelda came over and sat down next to him, instead of across from him, like usual.

_She's sitting closer to you than normal. _The nagging voice was back. Jack ignored it. He wasn't going to overthink this.

"It's unnerving. I know that once we get to that temple, we're not going to have any idea what to do. Ganondorf could kill us with ease, even without his Triforce. I'm not even close to the kind of magician he is. I don't know how I'm going to handle this. And I don't want to put you in danger. This isn't your fight. This is mine, and you got pulled into it by pure chance." Zelda said, and leaned her head on Jack's shoulder.

Jack was at a loss for words for a second. He felt like a teenage boy on his first date. Finally, he swallowed, trying to get his vocal chords working again.

Before he could speak, Zelda continued. "I won't force you into this. You know that. If you want to turn around and go hide, I won't hold it against you. I'd probably applaud your intelligence, honestly."

"No." Jack said with certainty, and was hit with a moment of self-confidence. "I'm in here with you. I don't think this was pure chance. I'm going to do everything I can to protect you and your father. If I die trying, so be it. Maybe I'll be able to give you a chance to take him down."

Zelda looked up at him, smiling. "Thank you." She said, and took his hand. She didn't let go. They sat on the ground with each other for a while in silence.

Finally, Jack's mind had had enough.

"Zelda?" He asked, nervously.

She looked up at him. "Yes?"

Jack felt like he was about to piss himself. But if he were going to die, he wanted to get this off of his chest. He couldn't die without telling her about his feelings. He swallowed nervously again.

"I…I wanted to talk to you about…well…" He trailed off, suddenly losing his nerve.

Zelda looked up at him inquisitively, but had a knowing look in her eyes. She was smart. That was never in question. She could read him like an open book.

_She already knows._ He thought. _Just say it, you pussy._

"Over these past few months, I've been getting to know you really well, and if I'm going to die, I can't leave this unsaid. I want to die without regretting not telling you this." He said, speaking slowly so that he didn't stutter or pass out. "I've fallen completely head over heels in love with you."

He looked down at the ground and continued. "I know that probably puts a huge damper on things, and I'm sorry, but I needed to say it. I know that it couldn't ever happen, so don't worry. With you being royalty and I'm just a gu-"

Zelda reached over and turned Jack's head towards her. "Look at me." She said.

He did as he was told.

"I am not too good for any man. Peasant or king, farmer or knight, we're all equal." She said, looking into his blue eyes, seeing the sadness there.

She smiled at him, then reached up and kissed him softly. He looked like he was about to pass out, but she understood why.

Jack stammered for a second, but Zelda shushed him, kissing him again. She pulled away, and stared deep into his eyes. "Live through this, and we'll figure it out afterwards. If not, we'll die together. We can call it a happy ending."

Jack stared at her, his eyes wide. "All right." He said.

"Good, then we should get a move on." Zelda said, and kissed Jack one more time before standing up. "Let's just get this over with. We should be close to that molten valley by now."

Jack stood up, feeling more confident than he had in years. He wrapped his hand around Zelda's waist and kissed her one more time.

"One for the road." He muttered, and smiled. "You're right, we need to get this over with. Let's go."

The couple started down the path again, headed toward the heart of darkness.

**BREAK**

Zora's Domain was a hellhole, to say the least.

Farore and I made it to the domain in a few days, and had been shocked as to what we found there. The Fajfi soldiers were holding thousands of Zoras prisoner. They had no weapons to defend themselves, being generally peaceful members of society. They had always left everyone alone, and the favor had been returned in kind by the other races of Hyrule. There had never been a war that forced the Zoras to take up arms in the history of Hyrule.

That had not changed. The Zoras were not fighting back. Fortunately, it appeared as if there were very few, if any, casualties. By allowing their enemies to take their domain without a fight, they had spared many of their own lives.

Farore and I sat downriver from the entrance, discussing what to do.

"We obviously can't just storm the place." She said. "There were over three hundred soldiers in there."

"Is magic out of the question?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"I can't cast a spell powerful enough to take out all of those soldiers without bringing the roof down." She said with a sigh.

"Could we find weapons for the Zoras? I know they're not soldiers, but at some point they're just going to have to deal with it. I don't know what other options there are." I said, slightly frustrated.

"Even if they would be willing to fight, we'd have to get in there with all those weapons. That would be slightly obvious."

"Well, what about a sneak attack? I could get one of their uniforms and slit enough throats to make their numbers not matter." I said. I thought it sounded like a decent plan.

"It could work, but you would have to be incredibly sneaky. This might be beyond even your skill." Farore said.

"That's what Ganondorf said before I killed him. Twice." I said, grinning.

"I guess you have a point." Farore said, and scratched her head. "Is that what you want to do?"

"Want and need are two very different things." I said. "I don't want to, but I need to if I'm going to help the Zoras.

"Point noted." Farore said with a small smile. "While you're doing that, I'm going to hide myself and look for Ellen's son. I'm just going to go with… Oh, hell I'm so stupid."

"What?" I asked curiously.

"I can turn you invisible, just like I did with my wings. Unlike most mages, I can turn you completely invisible. If you muffle your boots and make sure your chain mail isn't clinking around, they'll never be able to find you. Just don't step in water. You'll stick out like a sore thumb." She said.

The logic seemed so obvious. Neither of us had thought about it before.

As night fell, we prepared. I took off all of my chain mail. If I were found, it wouldn't matter whether or not I had it on. I would be overwhelmed either way. My shield and sword came off as well. They would make too much noise. Much to Farore's amusement, I took my pants and shirt off as well. They were made of rough fabric that made too much noise when I walked.

I chuckled as I stood in front of her with nothing but underwear and a knife on me. For once, I saw Farore blush, but my victory didn't last long. She came up to me and laid her hands on me, whispering something. Immediately, I saw my hands and arms vanish. Looking down, I saw that the rest of my body had followed suit.

Farore smiled, and then reached up, pulling my head down. She kissed me a little awkwardly, since she couldn't see my lips. "Good luck, Link. Please be safe. I'll be down there looking for Jared. If I find him, I'll let you know. I'm going to get him out of there and bring him back to his mother."

Farore whispered something and disappeared. I heard rustling, and suddenly saw her clothes coming appearing in front of me. Just like me, she stripped down to her undergarments to reduce noise.

"That's not fair." I muttered, as I turned around.

"If this weren't such a serious situation, you have no idea how much I'd be teasing you right now." Farore said, and laughed quietly. "Good luck. Let me know if you run into any issues."

"I will." I said. "You, too."

I ran ahead to the waterfall and jumped through as it parted. Farore would wait for a few minutes before following me. The guards at the entrance looked at the split waterfall, slightly puzzled. I dispatched the two of them quickly, before they could investigate anything, and moved slowly into the domain.

The main pool looked peaceful enough. There were at least twenty Fajfi guards standing watch, but none of the Zoras were swimming this late. I doubted they were allowed to swim at all. Moving down the ramp, I snuck up behind three separate guards, slitting their throats quietly.

This was an entirely new method of warfare for me. I had never been the sneaky type. I usually liked to run into a room screaming profanities at whatever creatures were unfortunate enough to be in my way. But, if I were to have any hope of surviving and saving the Zoras, the stealth-based approach was necessary.

Further down the ramp, I glanced in the old shop, and saw that it had been converted to a bar. I sighed as I saw well over thirty soldiers gathered around a Zora being forced to serve drinks. There was no way I could take out these men without being discovered.

_Farore, I'm running into a problem already. _I thought.

_That was quick. I'm not even in the domain yet. _Came her reply.

_I'm sort of a pro at finding trouble. The old store has been converted to a bar. There's at least thirty of the guys in there. _I said.

_Won't a bomb work? It's not very subtle, but it could possibly look like an accident to any soldier who hears it go off. _She replied.

_There's a Zora in there. He's serving the drinks. I can't kill him._

_Well that changes things. How quickly can you kill thirty soldiers with a knife?_

_Not going to happen. _I said, _Is there any magic you could use to get that Zora out of there-_

"Aye, Ralof, go ge some more o' dat good shit ya gave me la' nigh." I heard from inside the bar.

"I'll be gone for a few minutes. I don't know if any of you could go more than a few seconds without a refill." I heard the Zora say sarcastically.

"Don wan nun o' yur damn a'tude yeh blas'd fish or I'll cu' you up n fry yeh. Go ge' te damn ale." The same soldier screamed.

"Very well." The Zora said.

_Scratch that, I think I have an opportunity. _I thought, and moved next to the door. I heard soft footsteps approaching from the other side, and the Zora exited the bar.

"Ralof." I said softly, trying to get his attention. The Zora stopped in his tracks, looking around suspiciously.

"Don't panic, I'm going to help you." I said. "Just act casual. I'm going to burn that entire bar while you're gone. Don't come back. The front entrance is unguarded, as well as the rest of the river. Get away from here and go to Castle Town."

"Who are you? Where are you?" Ralof asked, looking towards the sound of my voice.

"I'm Link, from Hyrule." I said, laying my hand on his shoulder. "I'm right in front of you. I'm hidden with invisibility magic."

"What are you doing here?" He asked, bringing his voice down to a whisper.

"I'm liberating the Zoras. Unfortunately, the Fajfi soldiers had this place locked down too tight for a large fighting force to make it in here. I'm trying a different approach." I said quietly. "Now go, and be quick. I'll be sending more Zoras behind you. We have soldiers from Kakariko waiting at the end of the river. You can trust them."

"All right." Ralof said, looking hopeful. "Before I go, though, I have to tell you two things."

"What's that?" I asked.

"First, most of the Zoras are held under guard in Lord Jabu-Jabu's Fountain. Most of the guards are stationed there." He said. "Second, I carved out a spot in the rock above the bar. Climb up above the door, and you'll see a hole just big enough for a bomb to fit in. It also stretches out over the center of the bar. Roll a bomb in, and you'll kill all of them in there."

"Thank you, Ralof." I said, wishing that I'd brought my bomb bag. "Now go. I'll help the rest of the Zoras. Make sure you stay alive."

The Zora nodded, and took off running up the ramp. Nobody saw him, fortunately, and he was out the front entrance in a few minutes.

_Behind you. _I heard Farore say in my head. _I brought you some bombs._

_How…never mind. I guess you heard what he said about where all the Zoras are being kept?_

_Yeah, I'm headed there. That's a good thing that they're outdoors. I'm going to play around with some magic now that I don't have to worry about caving a roof in. You finish up in here. There's still the throne room, the main pool, a few of the smaller pools, and the living quarters. _Farore said.

_Got it. Keep me updated. _I replied, picking up the bombs Farore had dropped on the ground. Moving over to the bar's door, I began quietly climbing up the few footholds I could find. Once above the door, I saw the hole that Ralof had spoken of. It was about ten feet deep, and just wide enough for a single bomb.

_He was wise to have made this hole. _I thought to myself as I held a bomb up. The bar probably held as many as forty people at one time. By caving in the ceiling, Ralof would have been able to kill many more enemy soldiers than he could have with a sword.

I pinched the fuse of the bomb and whispered a prayer to Din, whose flames sparked to life in my hands, lighting the fuse. I shoved the bomb in the hole, rolling it all the way to the back, and jumped off the door, running towards a nearby rock to take cover.

I dove behind the rock, and heard a dull thump a few seconds later. As the bomb went off, I heard it crack the ceiling of the bar. It went down with a loud thud, along with the sound of tables and chairs being splintered and torn apart. Fortunately, I didn't hear a single scream. The bomb had worked as intended.

Not so fortunately, the noise of the collapse had attracted the attention of the nearby guards. Four soldiers came sprinting around the corner from the main pool, swords drawn. They stopped at the entrance to the bar, staring at the rubble in awe.

"Hurry, we need to start digging in here for survivors. Corporal, go tell the captain. We need help here." One of the guards said.

I quietly pulled out four of my throwing knives. I drew my hand back and let one fly at the corporal who had begun running up the ramp towards the throne room. The blade struck him in the back of the neck, and he collapsed. The other soldiers had already started attempting to clear rubble, and didn't notice. All three quickly fell to my throwing knives.

I sighed as I pulled my knives from their bodies. It pained me to kill like this. I didn't enjoy taking a human life in the first place, but this was entirely different.

I shook my head to clear it, and moved down to the main pool. The guards were easily dispatched with my throwing knives, and I moved over to the stairs leading to the smaller pools, the living quarters, and the throne room.

As I bounded up the first few steps, I heard a loud bang from far away.

_Shit._ I heard Farore say. _That wasn't supposed to happen. I need help._

_What's going on? _I asked as I began sprinting up the stairs.

_Demon. They knew we were coming._

I doubled my pace. This wasn't good. I heard another explosion, and reached the top of the stairs, only to be mauled by a group of fleeing Zoras. The Fajfi soldiers were mixed in with them, seemingly just as terrified as the inhabitants of the domain. They didn't try to fight each other. They just ran.

_Son of a bitch, this is a powerful one. Go get your sword or bow or something. This guy is just as powerful as I am._

I nearly gave in to the surge of the crowd and moved backwards, but I knew I wouldn't have time to get my bow. It was on Epona at the end of the river. The fight would be over before I even had access to the light arrows, much less made it back to the domain.

My invisibility failed, and I made a quick decision. Farore needed help, and I was the only one who could provide it.

_I'm coming. I don't have time to go back. _I thought. _Hang on._

_Damn it, Link, don't use the Triforce. If you pass out, this demon will… _Her thoughts cut off momentarily as I heard another explosion. This one shook the foundations of the domain. _Ugh, mother fucker… Never mind, get up here. You're right._

I pushed my way through the crowd of Zoras and Fajfi soldiers, and began running up the stairs by the throne. When I reached the throne, the last of the Zoras ran out of the gate behind it. I began sprinting down the long passageway leading to Lord Jabu-Jabu's Fountain, but was knocked off my feet by a shock wave.

I could feel Farore's pain through our bond. She was losing this fight.

I got back up, and held on to the wall as I pulled myself forward through the wind. The end of the tunnel was in sight. I wouldn't give up when I was so close. Another shock wave passed through the tunnel, accompanied by a flash of green light. I maintained my footing, and pushed forward.

_Hang in there, I'm almost there. _I thought.

Farore didn't respond. Suddenly, a flash of orange light lit up the end of the tunnel, and I was knocked off my feet again. The noise generated by the explosion nearly ruptured my eardrums, and my entire body was in pain.

_Farore, are you all right? _I asked.

There was no response.

_Farore? Answer me, please!_

I got up again, refusing to be stopped by such a basic feeling as pain. Silence ensued outside, and as I made it to the mouth of the tunnel, my heart almost leaped out of my mouth.

Fifty feet away, Farore lay in the shallow water, bruised and burned. She wasn't moving. Standing over her was the most hideous creature I had ever seen in my life. The demon stood well over ten feet tall, was covered entirely in blood red scales, and had eyes blacker than anything I had ever seen. It laughed maniacally as it drew a massive sword from its hip.

I only looked at Farore for half a second before my body reacted instinctively. I raised my left hand, and my entire body glowed gold. The demon's sword raised, ready to make the killing blow.

I let out a guttural war cry, and the demon paused, glancing up at me. Its eyes went wide, and it began casting a spell. A black barrier formed around it almost immediately, but it was not enough.

The Triforce on the back of my hand glowed bright, and I felt its energy explode out from myself, fueled by my rage. I couldn't focus the power into a beam, so I just let it all go. An enormous orb of gold light expanded from me rapidly, vaporizing everything in its path. The light hit the demon in under a second, vaporizing its barrier and melting it in front of my very eyes. It was dead before it could even scream in pain.

The ensuing explosion collapsed all of the rock walls by the fountain. The entrance to the ice cavern caved in, and I saw the same happen with the tunnel behind me. The fountain Lord Jabu-Jabu normally sat at was completely vaporized, and most of the water in the fountain immediately boiled away. It was said later that it could be heard from Castle Town.

I fell to my knees, and then onto all four limbs, overcome with exhaustion. I wanted to roll over and die, but I knew that I couldn't. I looked up slowly, to see Farore laying on the now dry rock, unharmed by the explosion. I slowly crawled over to her. It was the longest fifty feet of my life, but I pushed onwards. Exhaustion would not take me before I helped Farore.

As I neared her, I called out softly. "Farore? Are you all right?"

She didn't respond, and I kept crawling until I was next to her. I sat down next to her and pulled her into my arms.

I gently shook her, calling her name softly. Still, she did not respond. I laid my fingers on her neck, trying to find a pulse.

There was none.

I checked again, but still there was nothing.

"No, this can't be happening." I said to myself, panicked. Suddenly, the exhaustion that came from expending all of the Triforce's energy seemed not to matter. I sat up, frantically trying to figure out what to do.

_She can't be dead. _I thought to myself, slowly beginning to panic. _No, this isn't happening._

I racked my brain, trying to figure out what to do.

But there was nothing. All I could do was weep, holding Farore's lifeless body in my arms and crying out to the cruel world that had done this to her.

**BREAK**

Jack and Zelda reached the molten valley within a few hours of their short break. The path they had been on had hooked over to the one they had originally taken, and they found themselves staring down the same ramp into the abyss that they had seen before.

"Well, we're not doing anything by standing here." Zelda said. "We'll have to figure out a path around that lava once we're down there. There's no use trying to do that up here."

Jack nodded, seeing her logic. "Well, here we go."

Zelda sighed, and they began down the ramp, both taking one look back at the seemingly peaceful forest.

"I wonder what will happen after this is all done?" Zelda said to herself as they walked down the dirt ramp. She stared off into the distance as she spoke.

Jack wondered the same thing. "You think we would get to go home?"

"I don't know." Zelda said. "I hope so. It's been too long in this blasted forest."

"And if we both get slaughtered up there?" Jack questioned quietly.

"Well, then I hope that the goddesses have some kind of heaven prepared for us. And I hope Hyrule does all right. There's no next of kin, so there's a good chance of a civil war if I never come back." Zelda said, looking down at the ground. "I'd like to say that Hylians are above that, but if history means anything…"

"Well, just don't die, then." Jack said with a small smile. "I'm going to do my best to distract him and give you a good shot at him."

Zelda looked up at him quickly. "You're not going to sacrifice yourself for no reason, I hope. Don't you dare jump at an opportunity to sacrifice your life for me just because you think I'm more important than you are. I've probably already lost my father. Don't make me lose you, too."

Jack stared at her for a second. "I won't pretend that the situation looks hopeful for him. But maybe, just maybe, all three of us will come out of this alive. Hang in there, Zelda. As for not dying, no guarantees. I'll do my best, but I won't let you die while I stand there idly."

"Well, let me go over some things with you so that it won't be a problem." Zelda said quietly, avoiding bringing up her father again. "When Ganondorf fought Link, he used lightning that Link could reflect with the Master Sword. It paralyzed Ganondorf for a few seconds, while Link hit him with an arrow and hacked at him with the sword."

"That simple?"

"Unfortunately, no. Those arrows were light arrows, which we don't have access to. I can use light magic, though, should we need to. That requires both of us to be alive, though. I'm nearly useless with a sword, but you can't use magic." Zelda said.

"Great." Jack replied. "So if I die, you're screwed?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Zelda mused. "Also, Ganondorf very well may change his tactics when he sees that you have the Master Sword. We have to adapt to them, so don't expect him to be firing lightning at you, because it might not happen. And never forget that this is the most powerful magician known to mankind. He brought down an entire castle with his dying breath, then came back to life."

"But he doesn't have the Triforce of Power anymore?" Jack asked.

"And I don't have the Triforce of Wisdom anymore. The balance is still the same, except that he will now die by normal methods, like a sword spilling his intestines out onto the ground."

"Well, that's my specialty." Jack grinned.

The two of them reached the bottom of the ramp as they finished their conversation. The valley was enormous, and felt even bigger now that they were in it. They could still see the temple off in the distance, but now it felt like a sea of impassable molten rock separated them from it.

The travel took nearly a week of constant movement. Had they been bound by normal human limits of endurance, they wouldn't have made it. The temperature was in the mid-100's the entire time, and they would oftentimes have to walk miles upon miles to get around veins of magma. They hardly spoke during that time, instead leaving each other to their own thoughts. They both had some things that they had to make peace with before they entered the temple.

The day before they reached the temple, Zelda stopped moving for a few minutes and looked at Jack.

"Do you have any regrets?" She asked bluntly.

Jack gave her a strange look. "You're going soft on me now, princess. But yeah, I do."

Zelda chuckled, despite the grim situation they were stuck in. "You want to come clean now?"

Jack scratched his chin softly. "Yeah, I guess so. My biggest regret is that I couldn't save my son from those bandits. I know it sounds cruel when I leave my wife out of that statement, but I know that she would understand what I mean. I would have given my life for either one of them, but my son would have taken first priority. He had so much life to live."

"I understand. Anything else?" Zelda asked.

"Oh, yeah…" Jack grinned. "Kendall."

"What's this?" Zelda asked curiously.

"You remember the stupid things you did when you were a teenager? The things you look back on and wonder what was going through your mind?" Jack asked.

"Oh yes, how could I forget?"

"Kendall was one of those things I did when I was a teenager. I got drunk one night and took a bet that I wouldn't sleep with her. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but the fifty rupees were definitely _not _worth waking up next to…that." Jack said, laughing quietly.

"Oh, I see." Zelda said, smiling at his honesty. "Well, we all do something boneheaded like that at some point, don't we?"

"Mmhmm, so you're not perfect?" Jack grinned. "What are your regrets?"

"Oh, goddesses, here we go." Zelda muttered. "Well, I went through a rebellious phase when I was sixteen and lost my virginity to a boy I barely knew. That gave Link a good share of heartbreak. Then I began sneaking out all the time and causing my father grief. I drank a lot around the time I turned eighteen, and the list goes on and on."

Jack was hit with a small pang of jealousy at the mention of Link's name. "Link loved you?" He asked, trying to mask his feelings about it.

"Jack, if we make it out of this, don't worry about Link. He couldn't handle a relationship with me. Too much pomp and circumstance. In fact, that brings me to my deepest regret, which is having led him on and making him believe that he's a different person than he actually is." Zelda said.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, feeling less concerned.

"Link is independent. He's like a wolf. Always moving, always looking for that next good hunt. He knows that, but I spent years trying to convince him that he would rather live a castle life. I had him convinced that we would marry. I might have even convinced him that he loved me, even if he never said it. We just started an actual relationship right before all of this happened, but it took letting him go to clear my head. I see now that it would never work between him and I. He would resent me for making him into a king, and I would resent him for always wanting to leave." Zelda said.

She scuffed the ground with the toe of her boot. "I've done a lot of growing up since I came here. I'm a different person. When I go back, Link will have realized the same thing as I have. I know him. It will take being away from me for a long period of time for him to realize how much I limit him, and how much we don't complement each other."

"What will he do?" Jack asked. "Disappear?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Chances are, he'll actually go out and enjoy his life his own way, rather than always try to please me. I know he must have been miserable these past few years trying to do just that. Whether him enjoying himself means leaving Castle Town or Hyrule altogether, I don't know. He's unpredictable. That's another reason why he and I wouldn't work. I love predictability, and he's the embodiment of spontaneity."

Jack stared at her thoughtfully for a few seconds. "It takes a strong person to admit their own faults, especially when it comes to relationships. Yet you didn't blame Link for anything that went wrong. I'm impressed."

"Link didn't do anything wrong. He did everything right, actually. But he did it all in an effort to make me happy at the cost of his own happiness." Zelda said. "I just hope that he sees that."

"He's smart, he'll figure it out if he hasn't already." Jack said. He took Zelda's hand and looked into her blue eyes. "And if he doesn't want to figure it out, I'll have to have a man to man discussion with him about it." He added with a lighthearted smile.

Zelda laughed. "All right, tough guy. Kill Ganondorf and then I'll be convinced you have a chance against Link."

Jack laughed with her, momentarily putting all of his worries behind him.

After a few more minutes, the two of them continued on towards the temple.

**BREAK**

I held Farore in my arms for what felt like hours. There was nowhere to go. The entire fountain had collapsed, and I was boxed in. I would probably die of starvation in this place.

None of that mattered to me, though. As I sat on the ground, all I could see were Farore's lifeless eyes, yet I couldn't bring myself to shut them. Doing so would be acceptance that she was dead.

I leaned my head against hers, fresh sobs wracking my body, even though I had run out of tears long ago.

I screamed out curses to the demon that had done this to her. I screamed out prayers to the remaining two goddesses. I screamed out to everything, but nothing answered me.

Finally, I looked down at Farore as she lay in my arms.

_There's nothing you can do. _I finally told myself. _I'm sorry Farore. _

_I love you._

My eyes filled with tears again as I felt a new wave of sadness hit me. I had known I loved her before now, having spent the happiest few months of my life with her. She brought out the best in me, and had selflessly guided me through this war. She had taken my bad memories and replaced them with good ones. I didn't want it to end like this, though.

_I should have told her that before it came to this. _I thought. _It shouldn't have ever come to this in the first place, but I should have told her I love her._

I closed my eyes for a second, trying to clear away the few remaining tears. When I opened them again, I reached up to close her eyes.

As I placed my fingers on her eyelids, though, the Triforce on the back of my hand began to glow. I stopped what I was doing watched gold sparks started traveling through my hand and into Farore's body. They worked their way to the bruises, scrapes, cuts, and burns. They dug deep into the skin, mending broken bones and torn tendons.

I stared in awe as the sparks completely healed Farore's body, and then focused on her head, going into her ears and nose. The blood matted in her hair cleaned itself off, and the gaping wound on her scalp closed up before my eyes.

I kept my hand on her, trying to feed more energy to the Triforce. Finally, it finished its work, and faded back to a faint black mark on my hand. I looked back down at Farore and gasped when I found that she was breathing again.

I checked her pulse; it felt strong. I lifted her eyelids, which had closed on their own, and found her eyes full of life. I almost cried out of pure happiness. Nothing could express the sense of wonder and joy I felt at the moment.

After a few minutes, Farore groaned and opened her eyes. "Link? What…Oh my god, what happened to you?" She bolted upright, grabbing me and turning my face.

I tried to speak, but no words came out. Instead, I just stared at Farore. My mouth was hanging open. I didn't know what to say.

"Link, what's going on? Where's that demon? What did she do to you?" Farore asked frantically.

Instead of responding, I grabbed Farore and pulled her into me. I laid my head into her shoulder and cried once again.

It would have been quite the sight, had anyone been there except for Farore.

Farore didn't ask any more questions. I wasn't one to cry, so it concerned her. She wrapped her arms around me, holding me close to herself. She knew that I would explain what had happened later. Right now, the only thing that mattered was that she was alive.

After a few minutes of crying into her shoulder, I passed out, having passed my limit of physical exertion.

**BREAK**

It felt like only seconds later that I woke up in a warm bed. I groaned and looked around, but didn't recognize my surroundings.

I shook away the sleepiness and sat up in my bed, lifting my legs up from under the covers. I groaned again, feeling how stiff they were.

_Farore, where are you?_

There was no response. I stood up, wobbling slightly, and moved over to the mirror in the corner. My face was clean-shaven, much to my surprise. As I dipped my hands in the nearby water basin, the door flew open.

"Link!" I heard a voice call through the open doorway. I turned around, and Farore nearly tackled me off my feet as she jumped into my arms. For a few minutes, we just stood there, holding each other close.

The events at Zora's Domain flooded my mind, and I held Farore at arm's length. There were tears in her eyes. "How did you get us out of there?" I asked softly.

"I don't know." Farore said, looking down at the ground. "I woke up, and within a few minutes, you passed out. I thought you were dead, but there was nothing to heal. Your body was completely fine, other than a few bruises on your back and sides. I panicked. I didn't know what to do, and the entire area around us…well…there was no way out, so I teleported us to Kakariko to find a doctor."

I stared at Farore. "Teleportation magic takes a lot of energy, especially for two people. You shouldn't have risked that after…" I trailed off, not wanting to think about what had happened.

"After what?" Farore asked.

"You don't know?" I asked, my eyes going wide.

"Know what?" She asked, completely confused.

"Farore, you died. You were completely gone for hours, and the Triforce brought you back." I said quietly.

The look on Farore's face was one of complete confusion. "How…" She started to say, but trailed off. She stuttered for a second, but then went silent, staring off into space.

After a while of thinking, she turned back to me. "How did you bring me back to life? It's impossible to bring the dead back to life, I made it that way myself. Once your body passes through that first ten minutes or so of not breathing and without any blood flow, your brain dies. But you said I was dead for hours? Are you sure I was dead? I couldn't-"

I pulled her close to me, effectively silencing her. "I've been known to laugh in the face of impossible situations." I said softly, resting my chin on the top of her head. I looked down at Farore. Never before had she been so beautiful to me. Her blonde hair and green eyes could only have been made prettier by a smile, which I was determined to get out of her.

"How long was I out?" I asked after awhile.

"A week." Farore said. "What did you do with the Triforce that did that to you? You barely moved the entire time you slept. I've never seen someone so close to death without…" She trailed off.

"I killed a demon." I said simply. "Little bitch was powerful, but I unleashed everything the Triforce had on her. That's what tore up the fountain so bad."

"That should have killed you, Link." Farore said, looking up at me. "Please be careful, I… I don't know what I'd do without you."

"That same thought is what kept me moving afterwards." I said. "I wasn't going to let something as simple as exhaustion stop me. You needed my help."

I leaned down and kissed Farore, then pulled back. "We're both here now, and that's all that matters. We're all right, so let's not worry about what could have happened." I said.

Farore nodded, and finally smiled. "All right." She said. "Do you want some food?"

"You know me so well." I said, smiling back at her. My stomach growled, protesting its underuse. As we made our way to the door, I looked around the room. "Where exactly are we?"

"This is the same inn we stayed at the first time we were here." Farore said. "It's a different room, but this is where I ended up when I teleported. It was quite the sight. You should have seen the innkeeper's face when two mostly naked people appeared in the middle of the bar. Luckily it was the middle of the day, and there weren't many people here."

I glanced over at her as we went down the stairs. "What happened to the Zoras?"

"They were met by Lieutenant Parks at the end of the river. They're here in Kakariko now. Fortunately there were very few deaths on their side. Most of the ones who died were caught in the explosions when that demon appeared." Farore said. "The soldiers that the lieutenant captured sang like birds, too. King Duncan is losing, he's about to pull all his troops out."

I felt an immense sense of relief at her words, but I couldn't forget about Ellen Glenn. "What about Jared? Ellen Glenn's son?"

"He's safe. Lieutenant Parks sent him back to Castle Town with some of Major Redfield's men, and I'd imagine he's been reunited with her." Farore said.

We reached the bottom of the stairs, and the innkeeper greeted us with a smile. "Ah, Link, you're awake. I was beginning to think you'd never get out of that bed, boy. What can I get you two?"

"Fill a plate with as much food as you can fit on it." I said, grinning. My stomach growled again. "I could eat an entire cow right now."

The innkeeper laughed, and walked into the room behind the bar. "Aye, I'll be back in a minute." He called as he left.

I looked over at Farore as she sat down beside me. "Did anyone find my sword and shield?" I asked.

"No, I never even thought about those, I'm sorry." Farore said. "We can go get you a new set later today if you're feeling up to it. The crowd of Zoras running out of the front entrance probably kicked them into the river. Your tunic is gone, too. We'll have to drop by a tailor. Whatever you get, though, you're not wearing that gaudy green color again."

I laughed. "What? You don't like green?"

"Actually, quite the opposite, but it's my color. I don't share." She said with a smile.

"All right, I'll think about getting a different color. But no guarantees. That's been my color since I was still a fairy boy growing up in the forest." I said. "As for the sword, let's go up to the top of Death Mountain and talk to Biggoron. He makes a badass sword. For the shield, I'll make something work, but I want to go check and see if my room at the castle got blown to pieces. If not, the mirror shield is in a chest in there."

The innkeeper came back in the room with a plate full of steaming food. "Here you go, fairy boy." He said, setting the plate down on the table. "This one's on the house. I'm happy to help since you've been risking your hide for Hyrule."

"Thank you." I said, and then looked at him. "And I'm hardly a boy anymore. Or a fairy, for that matter."

The man laughed. "Once a fairy, always a fairy. And you're a boy to me. You two enjoy yourselves. If you need anything, I'll be taking a nap back there. Just yell real loud or somethin'."

I nodded, and he walked back into the back room again. I looked around the room. Farore and I were the only ones there at the moment. I hungrily dug into the food, finishing half of it in less than a minute.

Farore chuckled at how fast I was eating. "You're going to puke if you keep eating that fast."

"Is that a challenge?" I asked, my mouth full of food.

"No!" She said slapping my arm. "Don't you dare."

I laughed, and finished the last of the massive slab of steak I had been given.

"Well, as for the mirror shield, I have some good news, but I forgot about it until you said something. Major Redfield sent word that they found your room while they were clearing rubble, and only half of it collapsed. They found your chest of stuff, and it's being sent here with some soldiers who are coming back to see their wives." Farore said.

I finished the last of the food on the plate, and burped loudly. "Well that's certainly some good news. I was afraid that I had lost all that stuff. And the Ocarina of Time is in that chest. We'll be able to teleport around with that. Should King Duncan decide to not pull his troops out, we'll be able to give them hell."

"That we will." Farore said. "All right, you're done. Let's go get you out of those baggy clothes the innkeeper lent you. There's a tailor down the road."

I got up from the table and set my empty plate behind the bar. Hitching up the loose pants, I headed over to the door. Once I was ready, Farore and I stepped outside. The air was fresh, and the sun was shining brightly. Farore led me down the street, and into a small building.

An older man sat behind the counter, patching a pair of pants. He looked up at the two of us. "Oh, Ellen, it's good to see you again. And it's good to see that you're back in the land of the living, Link. Let me go get my wife. Ellen's already told her what you need."

I looked at Farore as the young man scurried back behind the counter. "Seems like you've been here a couple times."

A few minutes later, the young man reappeared with two women, who looked to be mother and daughter.

Wordlessly, the older woman pulled out a measuring tape and came over to me. She started measuring, but didn't write the numbers down.

Finally, she stood up straight. "I've already got a chain mail shirt that will fit you well. As for a tunic, I can have one made for you within the hour. This young lady here tells me that you're not going to be wearing green, though. So what color do you want?"

_You really _don't _share, do you? _I thought.

_Get white. _Farore said to me, ignoring my comment.

_White? No way, I'm not doing that. Do you know how dirty that will get?_

_Yes you are. I'm the woman in this relationship, so you do what I say. You have no idea how good that would look. _She replied.

"He'll have white." She said out loud.

The woman stared at me for a second, then nodded. "Yes, that will work quite well. Wait here, I'll do it myself so that it's done quickly. And Helena, quit staring at this poor boy before you start drooling." She walked behind the counter, and the young woman turned around quickly, following her. She had turned bright red in embarrassment.

I sighed, and glared at Farore. "You know how much blood I get on my clothing, right? That tunic isn't going to stay white for long. It'll be brown or black before too long."

"Not if I'm around. Quit griping about the fashion choices I'm making for you. You're a man, you don't understand clothing." Farore said, smiling.

We sat and talked amongst ourselves and to the man behind the counter for half an hour. Finally, the elder woman came from the back again, holding a bundle of clothing and chain mail.

"I put two tunics in here. We only had one chain mail in your size, though. You'll want to go to the blacksmith if you need another of those. I also brought you some pants, and I have a pair of boots over here somewhere…" She put the bundle on the counter, and rummaged around in a corner. She glanced at my feet, and pulled out a large pair of black leather boots.

They looked extremely warm and expensive.

I sighed and went over to the counter. "How much do I owe you?" I asked, reaching for my wallet.

"Nothing. Just keep saving our lives, if you don't mind." The tailor said, smiling.

I didn't argue with her. I realized that I had left my wallet on Epona, who was probably grazing by Lon Lon Ranch two days' ride away.

"Thank you." I said, picking up the bundle and turning around to head to the door.

"Oh no, not yet. You're putting that on." The tailor said, and grabbed my shoulder. She ushered me behind the counter, and led me into the back room, where three young women sat at a large table, giggling. As we entered, they turned around and looked at me. All three of them giggled again.

_Sounds like a brothel in there. _Farore commented.

I ignored the comment, and followed the tailor to a small room with a curtain covering it. I quickly pulled off the baggy clothing I had on, and stepped into the pants I had been provided. I pulled the white tunic on, put on my socks, and tugged the boots on.

Everything was a perfect fit. The tailor was a master, to say the least. Finally, after I had put on the belt, I put my new hat on, which fell down to the middle of my back. I looked around the room, picked up the innkeeper's clothing, and pushed the curtain aside.

Farore was standing on the other side of the curtain waiting for me, along with the other four women in the building. The young women giggled again, the tailor nodded, and Farore squinted at me.

"Now that looks better." She said, smiling. "Let's go before these girls have an aneurism."

Farore turned and pushed through the women, and I followed her, trying to keep my distance. They were sort of freaking me out.

_Are they on drugs or something? _I asked as we went into the front room.

_Oh, Link. You're so clueless. _Farore said, smiling lightly.

We thanked the tailor, and left the building. I was relieved to be outside again after having dealt with those three women.

"What do you mean I'm clueless?" I asked, puzzled.

"You really don't know why those girls were acting like that?" Farore asked.

"Let's pretend I don't."

She laughed, and started walking towards the western side of Kakariko. I walked quickly to catch up with her. When I finally caught up, she looked at me, smiling. "I'm not the only one who finds you exceedingly attractive, Link. Let's just leave it at that."

"What does that…wait…you do? What's going on?" I asked, puzzled.

Farore was laughing _at _me now. "So innocent." She muttered after awhile.

I scratched my head, still confused, but stopped talking.

A few minutes later, I decided to never talk to women again.

My life would be so much easier.

**BREAK**

The first thing Farore did when we reached the top of Death Mountain was fix Biggoron's speech impediment with magic.

We were greeted with a loud yell as Biggoron jumped up from where he'd been sleeping, but Farore cast a large green flame at him. He paused as it wrapped around his head. The flame died away, and he spoke, seemingly unperturbed. He didn't even seem to notice that his obnoxious impediment was gone.

"Link! It's good to see you! Who's this you've got with you?" He asked me.

"Biggoron, this is Ellen. We came up here to see if you could make me a sword. I lost my old one, unfortunately." I said.

"Well that's probably a good thing, since I didn't make your last one. If I didn't make it, don't rely on it." He said, smiling. "What do you need?"

"I want a 48 inch blade, made with the strongest steel you've got. I want a hand-and-a-half hilt, with no decorations or anything like that." I said. That was all he needed to make a sword, and it would always turn out fantastic.

"Actually, since you mentioned steel, I have something else, if you're interested…" Biggoron said.

"What is it?"

"We found a massive chunk of titanium floating around in the fire temple. It's so strong that it can't be forged. I have to cut the blade from the larger piece. I don't have much of a place for it with what I do." He said.

"You're asking if I want a titanium sword?" I asked in awe.

"Yeah, and you can have it. I don't need the money from you. I have plenty of that. I just need to find people to get this large block of titanium off of my hands." He said.

I had dreamed of having a titanium blade since I had been able to swing a sword. Titanium had only been discovered recently, and it was as Biggoron had said. Anything made with titanium had to be cut from the larger block with a diamond saw, and then ground down. Forging it was impossible. No forge was hot enough to soften the metal.

In combat, a titanium blade would not break. It was also a third of the weight of steel. It was rumored that a titanium sword had once been bitten by a dragon, only to break its teeth off. Of course, titanium was incredibly expensive to buy. A sword would have cost in the upper hundred thousand-rupee range.

"Biggoron, you know how much a single titanium sword is worth, right?" I asked, stunned.

"It doesn't matter. I have enough money to easily last the rest of four lifetimes should I decide to retire. And I've been hearing that you saved Kakariko. If that's true, you also saved the Gorons." He said.

"She saved Kakariko." I said, pointing at Farore. "But if you're dead set on giving me a titanium sword, I'm not going to argue with you. When will it be done?"

"Actually, I made a few already. Let me go check the lengths and hilts." He leaned back and began rummaging through piles of steel. He picked a few things up, and tossed them aside.

"I've got a 50 inch blade already made. Would you rather have that? Titanium is pretty light, so you'll want to get a longer blade if you can." Biggoron said after awhile.

"It has a hand-and-a-half hilt?" I asked.

"I think so…yeah it does." He said, turning around. In his hand was possibly the epitome of all craftsmanship. The blade was very simple. The entire thing was one piece of solid titanium, and the guard was perpendicular to the blade. It had a hand-and-a-half hilt, as I had asked. I pulled the sword out of his hand, and was amazed at its weight. It weighed no more than seven pounds. A steel sword of this size would have weighed close to twenty pounds.

"This is perfect. Are you sure you want me to just walk away with something so valuable?" I asked.

"Yes. Go save the world or whatever you do. I'd be honored to have Hyrule saved by you wielding my sword." He said.

I looked up at him. "Thank you." I said, simply. We all said our goodbyes, and I grabbed a sheathe on the way out, which I strapped securely to my back. As we climbed back down the mountain, I turned to Farore.

"If King Duncan pulls his troops out, what will we do?" I asked. It hadn't been brought up yet, but it needed to be.

"We have to make sure he can't round up more forces and attack again." Farore said.

"Shouldn't we go get King Nordica before we invade enemy territory?" I asked.

"No. The king, Zelda, and Jack will be coming back without our help. It was Din and Nayru who sent them through that door. I was just the messenger. They're in the Sacred Realm, the gap between dimensions." She said.

The gap between dimensions struck a chord in me. I hadn't thought about it for so long, that it took me a few minutes to place my concern into words.

"Isn't the gap between dimensions where Zelda locked Ganondorf?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"Yes." Farore said. "And I would imagine he's found them by now. Don't worry about those three, though. Din and Nayru know what they're doing. They'll help them, since they're allowed to be more involved with the Sacred Realm."

"Why would they send them there?" I asked, concern gnawing at my insides.

"To finish off Ganondorf. He no longer has the Triforce of Power, so it's much easier to kill him. He's tainted the Sacred Realm with his presence. Zelda didn't mean to send him there, but it's still her fault, as Din and Nayru so bluntly put it. They thought that she should be the one to fix the problems she created." She said.

We walked all the way down to Kakariko while I pondered Farore's words. They had been laced with bitterness, as if she resented what her two sisters had done to Zelda. I didn't ask, though. Whatever her feelings were on the subject, she would have brought it up before now had she felt the need to.

Dusk was closing in on Hyrule by the time we made it back to the inn. The regular people were sitting at the bar, enjoying a drink after work. The innkeeper greeted us with a smile, handed us plates of food, and politely asked us to go upstairs.

As we made it to our room, Farore shook her head and smiled.

"What is it?" I asked.

"He asked us to come upstairs because apparently the men down there drink less when they're staring at me." She said, laughing now.

I laughed with her. "It's a really good thing I'm not the jealous type."

_It's time to tell her._ Came the voice in the back of my head. I glanced at Farore nervously, but she hadn't seemed to notice as she went over into the corner and started pulling off her shoes.

I reflected over the events at Zora's Domain. I remembered how much it had hurt to see Farore's lifeless body. The pain was still fresh in my mind. I would never forget what it felt like to lose her.

Most importantly, I had wished so badly that I'd told her I loved her before she died. I had told myself that if I could have five more minutes with her, that's what I would have done. Now, she was back, and nerves had prevented me from saying anything.

I thought about how long I'd known her. _Three months… Is that long enough? _I thought to myself, not noticing Farore look around at me curiously.

I jumped when she spoke. "Long enough for what?"

I stared at her for a second, and my heart started beating much quicker. I didn't know how to say this easily, but she had already heard the thought, so I had to follow through. I decided that just spilling my guts out to her would be the best way for now.

"When you died, Farore, I didn't know what to do. At first, I was mad, and then I just sat and cried for hours. I had finally accepted that you were dead when the Triforce brought you back." I said slowly, not wanting to stutter.

She stared at me for a second, but didn't respond, seeing that I had more to say.

"I guess something clicked in my head when I thought you were dead. It made me realize just how much I care about you. It made me see just how much better you've made my life. Ever since you showed up, I started being more like myself, and you've forced me to let out all that pent up anger I had. All my bad memories of war are gone. Whether that's from your spell or just from being around you, I don't know. I don't really care, though, because what matters is that you got rid of those horrible thoughts. You didn't come here trying to change me, either. I don't think you've gotten onto me for being myself even one time. Like when I fart while we're eating and stuff."

Farore couldn't help but smile when I added the last part. "What are you trying to say, Link?" She asked after a second. I dared to think that I saw a hint of hopefulness in her eyes.

"I love you Farore." I said, looking down at the ground awkwardly. I had never said that to a girl before. I didn't know how to handle it. I was more nervous as to how she would handle it.

Farore got up from the corner she had been sitting in and walked over to the bed to sit down next to me. She turned my head towards herself and kissed me before speaking. "You know, I thought you were dead, too. I beat myself up for not having the courage to tell you that exact same thing. I told myself that if I had one more chance, I would tell you."

She kissed me again. I felt incredibly relieved at her words.

"I love you, too, Link. I'm glad that I could actually tell you that. I thought I would never get the chance." Farore said, leaning in and kissing me a third time.

I pulled away and stared deep into her green eyes. Even after being around her for months, they were still stunning. I reached up and curled her blonde hair around my fingers. I reached around her and pulled her close to myself, happy to hold her for a while.

The two of us separated after a few minutes and both grabbed our plates of food. Farore spoke first as we started eating.

"You know, every time we have a serious relationship talk, it's in this inn. What's with that?"

I chuckled. "Probably the fact that he always seems to have only one room with one bed when we show up."

"Well, I'm not complaining about that." Farore said, grinning. "You're like a giant teddy bear that I can snuggle with every night. And you're warm."

"Oh really? And do you treat teddy bears the same as you treat me when you're sleeping next to them?" I asked jokingly.

"No, because teddy bears don't get all worked up and excited like you do. And they don't get turned on when I so much as smile." She replied.

"You know how easily I can make you beg for more, so I think that what you're saying doesn't matter all that much." I chuckled. "At least I can control myself when I'm horny."

"Oh, come on. Cut me some slack-"

I got up and walked over to Farore, wrapping my arm around her waist and picking her up from her chair. I bear hugged her and walked over to the wall, which I pushed her up against. I leaned down and kissed her hungrily. I worked my way down her neck with my lips as she moaned.

"Damn it, you're a tease." She whispered.

"Who says I'm teasing you this time?" I asked, softly biting her earlobe. She moaned again.

"I know you are. You always do this. And I always fall for it." She said, and then gasped as I ran my lips down her neck again.

"Let's say I'm not teasing you this time, then." I said, as I lifted her up and tossed her on the bed.

When she landed, she looked up at me, surprised. "Wait, you're serious?"

"Dead serious." I said, pulling her up into a sitting position. "Unless you're uncomfortable with going any further than we've gone before."

"Oh hell no I'm not." She whispered excitedly, and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me down on top of her. She reached up and pulled my tunic over my head. I ran my hands down the front of her shirt, unbuttoning it. I nearly tore it off of her, but controlled myself as she slipped it off of her arms.

Leaning down, I kissed her again, pressing my body against hers. I made another round around her neck, making her moan again. Slowly, I made my way down her chest and stomach, and began unbuttoning her pants. She pulled them off as I finished, and pulled me down. She rolled over on top of me, and wasted no time pulling my pants off. We were left in just our underwear.

Farore kissed me softly, and quickly found that I reacted just as strongly as she did when she kissed my neck. I reached around her back and pulled off her bra. She slipped it around her arms, exposing her breasts.

_Oh damn. _I thought as I looked at them. I had never seen such a perfect body before. Nothing could have compared to Farore.

"Oh my god, this is actually happening." She moaned. I smiled as I rolled over on top of her and kissed her again.

Farore reached down and pulled my underwear aside. "Holy shit, you didn't tell me you had a monster hiding down there." She whispered.

I laughed and pulled the last of my clothing off. Farore did the same, and pushed me down on the bed. "This is my first time, so I get what I want. I'm on top." She said, and crawled on top of me.

I stopped momentarily, but she already knew what I was going to ask.

"No, it won't hurt me like it normally does for virgins. Part of the benefits of being a former goddess." She leaned down on top of me, pressing her body against mine. She kissed me once, and then leaned back.

"You're sure, Link?" She asked.

I looked up at her and nodded. I had never been more ready for this.

She reached down and grabbed my dick, then leaned back further. I felt the pressure as it slid home, and groaned in pleasure. Farore gasped, and began riding me. She came faster than a fully automatic ballista, but didn't stop. She kept on going, climaxing five or six times before I began to reach my limit.

Finally, I couldn't take it any more. Farore tensed again and leaned her body down into mine, and I moaned loudly. She began moving faster, and we held each other close, pushing faster and faster as we climaxed together.

It had never felt as good as it did that time. The entire inn had probably heard the last thirty seconds, but I wasn't bothered by it.

Farore gasped one last time, and rolled off of me. "Holy hell, Link. That was amazing."

My earlier suspicions were confirmed when whoever was in the room beside me broke out into a wild applause and cheered.

"Oh, shit, I think they heard us." I said nervously.

"I don't care." Farore said. "They're jealous."

I laughed. "How about round two?"

"You're…oh god you recover fast."

I laughed as I rolled on top of her and continued the best night of my life.

**END**

**The white tunic is a tribute to my now broken Super Smash Bros Melee disk. May it rest in peace. I whooped a lot of ass with Link in a white tunic on that game. **

**Lastly, kudos to the people who noticed the twilight princess reference I slipped in this chapter. That's because I've already decided on the sequel for this fanfic, which will be based on twilight princess.**

**PLEASE REVIEW MY STORY I WRITE IT FOR YOU PEOPLE!**

**Happy New Year!**

**Vivi**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm bringing back an old character from chapter 4. Jared is the old general that Link originally requested to take with him to Scorpion Pass.**

**REVIEW MY STORY!**

**Vivi**

**START**

Chapter 13

I woke up the next morning to the sound of birds outside the window. As I opened my eyes slowly, I saw sunlight streaming through the cracks in the curtain. I rolled over and looked at the other side of the bed. Farore was still asleep.

_I don't know how either of us slept at all last night after that. _I thought to myself, grinning.

It had certainly been quite the experience.

I got up from the bed and pulled some pants and a shirt on. I headed out the door and downstairs, hoping to find some breakfast.

Downstairs, the innkeeper chuckled when he saw me. "I think the entire town heard the two of you last night." He said.

I turned red. "Yeah, sorry." I said, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly.

"Son, don't apologize. A glorious finish like that deserves no apology. In fact, you deserve congratulations. I didn't think you two were gonna stop. It went on for hours." He said, and smiled even wider. Eventually, he broke down into hysterical laughter.

I couldn't help but laugh with him. "Well, I'm sorry if my rampant sex kept you awake." I said. There was nobody in the room, so I could speak freely.

"No worries, Link. What can I do for you?" The innkeeper asked.

"I just wanted some breakfast." I said, still chuckling from our conversation.

"Breakfast? It's mid-afternoon boy, I'm about to start preparing dinner."

I squinted at him, trying to see if he was joking, but determined that he wasn't. "Oh…" I said, trailing off. "Did I really…?"

"Yes, you stayed up that late." He said, and then reached under the counter and handed me an envelope. "I received a letter for you this morning. It's from the steward. And if you go upstairs, I'll bring you two some hot meals when they're ready. Just give me about half an hour."

I thanked him and headed back upstairs, opening the letter as I walked. It was a short, simple note from Lt. Parks.

_Link_

_King Duncan has ordered that all Fajfi forces are to pull out of Hyrule. We've won. He wants to meet to negotiate the terms of surrender. Please meet me at my home whenever you can so that we can start putting together our terms for him._

_I also have a chest of your stuff from Major Redfield waiting for you._

_Lieutenant Parks_

I breathed a sigh of relief at the letter's contents.

_The war is over_. I thought to myself as I opened the door to my room.

Farore opened her eyes as the door shut behind me, smiling at me. "Damn." She said, and closed her eyes again.

"What's that?" I asked.

"I was hoping we could continue." She said, chuckling.

I laughed with her. "Well, I would agree, but it's already mid-afternoon and I have to go meet Lieutenant Parks. We've won the war with Fajfar."

Farore bolted upright in bed. "That's it? We won just like that?"

"I guess so." I said, and sat down on the bed next to her. "Maybe…"

Farore looked at me expectantly as I trailed off. "Yes?"

"Never mind. I'll talk to you about it later. We should take this one step at a time for now. We need to meet King Duncan to negotiate the terms of surrender before we've actually won the war." I said,

Farore respected my privacy and didn't push the subject. "All right, go ahead and go meet with the lieutenant. I'm going to spend a little time making myself look pretty."

I smiled a pressed my forehead against hers. "You always look beautiful, Farore." I leaned in and kissed her. I could tell that she enjoyed the compliment. Goddess or not, any girl will enjoy being told how beautiful she is.

"All right you horny devil." Farore said after a few minutes. "Go to your meeting."

I nodded and gave her one last kiss. I quickly pulled my tunic and black pants on and pushed my way out of the door, downstairs, out of the inn, and down the street. I walked up to the front of the Lord's Mansion, where Lt. Parks lived, and knocked on the door.

The lieutenant himself answered the door and smiled at me. "Good afternoon, Captain." He said.

"Captain?" I asked, surprised. "There's not any Hylian generals left alive to promote me."

"Wrong." He said, and opened the door. "Come in and get this chest out of the living room. Then I'll tell you what happened."

I walked into the mansion and saw my old chest of possessions sitting on the living room floor. I ran over to it, my heart beating rapidly. I unlatched the front of it and opened the lid.

Underneath was a large collection of the items that I had acquired while searching for the means to defeat Ganondorf. The mirror shield, longshot, fairy bow, megaton hammer, Biggoron sword, and lens of truth were all inside. I dug to the bottom of the chest and pulled out a small leather satchel, hoping against hope that the Ocarina of Time hadn't been damaged.

Opening the satchel, I pulled out the small blue ocarina. It hadn't been shattered during the collapse, and after a few notes, I determined that its tuning hadn't been harmed, either.

I put the ocarina back in the satchel, strapped it underneath my tunic, and turned my attention back to the items in the chest. Picking up the mirror shield, I strapped it to my back, on top of my new sword. The longshot went on my belt, along with the megaton hammer. The fairy bow easily strapped on underneath my sword, and the lens of truth fit in a pouch on my belt. The Biggoron Sword would have to stay, though. I was already carrying too much weight, and a massive claymore wouldn't help.

After I was finished arming myself, I turned around to Lt. Parks. "What's this about a promotion?" I asked quizzically.

"We've both been promoted. A Hylian general was among the survivors of the prison raid. He's back into active duty now, and has promoted both of us. Major Redfield's forces, along with the prison guards, have been officially embedded with the Hylian military. Major Redfield took a demotion to lieutenant, but is still in command of his forces. We're in a good place." He said, still smiling.

"What were you promoted to?" I asked, noticing that he had avoided telling me.

Parks sighed. "Look, Link, I didn't want you to be upset with me. I know you've done a lot more work than I have, and it's not really fair."

I looked at him puzzled. "You know I don't care."

"Well, I got promoted to Colonel. Seriously, I don't know why he gave me such a big promotion-"

"It's all right." I said, looking at the new colonel in the eyes. "I really don't mind. I like to stay out of the public eye anyways. The higher your rank, the more bullshit you have to deal with."

Colonel Parks sighed. "Thank you for understanding, Link. If you'd like to be promoted higher, please let me know. I'll tell the general. I think he'd do it."

"Oh, god no." I said, horrified at the thought of being promoted any higher. "What's this general's name?"

"He insisted that we drop rank with him. His name is Jared. Really old guy." Parks said.

My jaw almost hit the floor. "He survived?" I asked, completely stunned.

"Yes, he did. Thank the goddesses. I've read about the results of the battles he commanded. The man is unstoppable when he wants something done." The colonel said. "And, I'd like you to drop rank with me. I call you Link, so just call me John."

I nodded. Now I understood why my promotion had only been one step up, whereas John's had been three. Jared knew that I hated authority. I would have happily stayed a sergeant, but had been forced to take promotions due to the request of the king. It was only fitting that a royal knight should be ranked higher than sergeant.

"We need to move on to the matter at hand, now." John said. "Our terms of surrender for King Duncan."

I stared at him for a second. "That won't take much discussion." I said.

"Why's that?"

"Because we're going to demand unconditional surrender. He attacked us and killed thousands with his meddling in the dark arts of demons. He attempted to use a demon to capture the king. He used that same demon to capture thousands of people and let them starve and die in prison. He conspired to take the Triforce after taking all of Hyrule. He used a demon to destroy Zora's Domain and nearly kill Farore and myself. He should be run through without negotiations." I said adamantly. King Duncan was not going to get off the hook for what he had done in the past few months.

John thought for a few minutes, and sat down on a chair, scratching his chin. "Are you sure that that's the best route?"

"Yes." I said. "The man is an animal. We will force him to sign an agreement for unconditional surrender and have him put through a trial, where I hope that he will be sentenced to life in prison."

John nodded, seeming to accept my line of thought. "It's pretty radical, but I have to agree. This man is not to be taken lightly. I have no doubts that he would try to earn our trust before attacking us again."

"What is he doing? Waiting on us to respond to his letter?" I asked.

"Yes. I'll send it out today. I've already had confirmation that Fajfar's troops are nearly all out of Hyrule now, though, so we can rest easy for a week or so until he sends a letter back."

I couldn't describe the feeling inside me as simple happiness. It was pure, overwhelming joy. I couldn't believe that the war was over. It had only been three months, and we had been nearly wiped off of the map and put under total Fajfi control. Yet here we were taking the final steps to ending the entire ordeal.

I could only smile, and John patted my back. I had nothing left to say.

"Keep me updated." I muttered as I turned around and headed for the door.

"Link." John said, stopping me.

"Yes?"

"Thank you. Seriously. We couldn't have done this without you or Farore. We would have fallen without a doubt." He said.

I nodded and made my way out the door.

**BREAK**

Jack and Zelda stood in front of the temple of the Sacred Realm, staring at the massive door that led inside. The temple itself was enormous. It had to rise over four hundred feet into the sky, and was about half a mile wide. All the legends had told of its size, but nothing had prepared the two of them for what Ganondorf had done to it.

Just as the king of evil had changed Hyrule Castle into a floating fortress, so had he changed the temple. It was now floating over a pool of magma ten times the size of the one that had been beneath Hyrule Castle, with its entrance placed over solid ground. What had previously been towers had been blown apart or torn down. Ballistae were now placed on the walls and on top of the ruined towers. Monsters swarmed the outside, but looked as if they hadn't noticed Jack or Zelda standing behind a small hill about two hundred yards away from the door.

"How the hell are we supposed to get in there? There's one entrance, and about ten thousand monsters that I can see with ballistae and arrows just waiting for us to try getting through that door." Jack said.

"Well, I could maybe cover us with a barrier." Zelda said, fishing for ideas. "But if it gets hit by one of those ballistae, I doubt I can hold it for long. Those things could tear through those stone walls, so my barrier won't stand up to them for very long."

"What about invisibility?" Jack asked.

"That's not going to work. There's so much steam and smoke in the air that we would stick out as it flows around us.

Jack thought for a few seconds, looking around for an alternative. "What if you were to create two separate, smaller barriers? If you could get them to fit around our forms, rather than one giant one that ends up protecting a lot of empty space, they'll be much less likely to hit it with those ballistae."

Zelda pondered for a second, and nodded. "I think I can do that. I've never tried it, but we'll see." She kneeled down to the ground and started muttering to herself for a few minutes. Finally, a luminescent pink barrier formed around Jack, with Zelda's following suit quickly. She stood up and nodded.

"I had to connect them through a tiny stream of energy, but the chances of them hitting that are small, to say the least. I couldn't get the barrier to work as two separate parts, so that's what I had to do. These barriers won't be affected by arrows enough to matter, but let's make sure that those ballistae don't hit us." She said.

Jack nodded his acknowledgement, and they moved closer to the top of the hill. He peeked out over the walls of the temple again, and glanced at the door, wishing it were closer. "What's our plan? Sprint as fast as we can?"

"I don't see any other alternative." Zelda said, silently praying to Farore.

"You've considered that this is almost certainly a trap, right?" Jack said after a few seconds.

"Yes, but again, I don't see an alternative. He knows we're coming, that much is obvious. He also knows that this is the only way in the temple. But we need in that temple. The good thing is that Ganondorf won't kill us without fighting us. He could have easily trapped Link and killed him while he was helpless, but he didn't. He could have killed me before Link got there, but he didn't. He won't take the Triforce without a fight." Zelda said, shuddering as she remembered her imprisonment in the castle. It had been the most terrifying few hours of her life.

"Well, he won't take me down easily." Jack grunted, and began standing up.

"Wait!" Zelda said, pulling him back down. "Let me go first. You run faster, so wait until I'm about fifty feet ahead. That way we'll be separated for awhile and they'll have to decide who to shoot at."

Jack wanted to argue, but saw her logic. He nodded, and Zelda took off from behind the hill.

The monsters behind the wall took only a few seconds to notice her. As they began pulling out their bows and turning the ballistae, Jack jumped up and began sprinting as fast as he could. He could see the confusion as some of the ballistae turned towards him. By the time they had finally decided who to shoot at, Jack had nearly caught up with Zelda at the halfway point.

Arrows rained down upon Jack as he caught up with Zelda. She glanced over at him. "Run ahead and get that door open." She shouted, and he ran faster. The door was only fifty feet away, but a few of the ballistae were beginning to fire.

The giant spear-like arrows hit the solid ground around Jack with ear-splitting cracks, forcing him to roll out of the way. They buried themselves halfway into the solid rock. One landed only a few feet beside him, and he picked up the pace. When he was twenty feet away, he glanced back to make sure Zelda was all right. She was still running, unharmed, so Jack turned around and grabbed the massive handle on the door as he reached it. He pulled as hard as he could, and the door began to move.

The sound of a ballistae firing reached Jack's ears right as the giant spear smacked into the door next to him. He kept pulling, and the door inched open. Arrows rained down upon him, but were all deflected. Another spear hit inches away from his hand, and Zelda reached the door. She grabbed the other side of the handle and began pulling.

Finally, the door was open wide enough for the two of them to slip through. As Jack squeezed through, a spear buried itself in the door where his head had been a few seconds before. As they fell inside, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Jack stood up and dusted himself off, and walked over to Zelda. He offered her his hand, and pulled her up when she took it. "Let's get moving." He said quietly, taking one last look at her sparkling blue eyes. He could see the pain in them, and wished that he could console her about her father. She was putting on a front, trying not to let the worry show, but Jack knew her well enough to know that she was being torn apart on the inside.

Zelda nodded at his words. The only way to help her father was to keep moving. They both turned and looked down the hallway, and began walking.

The hallway led to a massive room with dozens of pillars. In the center was a giant stone structure that led into the ceiling. It was surrounded by a barrier, which was being fed from energy channels that were positioned in the wall.

"Are you serious?" Zelda breathed.

"What?" Jack asked, confused.

"This is exactly how Link described Ganon's Castle when he entered it. It was a long passageway that entered into a room with a giant stone structure in the middle. The door in the structure was surrounded by a barrier, which could only be deactivated by moving through the doors underneath each energy channel and shooting a light arrow through the source." Zelda said. "Does this man not have any creativity?"

"I guess not. He probably never expected you or Link here when he built this place. Of course, it's not exactly difficult to figure out that we need to go through those doors…" Jack trailed off, and then stood up straight as she approached one of them. "Wait, Zelda. Don't go through those doors!"

_Smart boy. _Jack heard the Master Sword say in his head.

Zelda stopped. They had been walking around the room, examining each door. It looked exactly how Link had described Ganon's Castle. The colors were even in the same order. She had placed her hand on the doorknob of the door with the red symbol above it. "Why?" She asked.

"Remember, this is almost certainly a trap. This is what Ganondorf wants us to do. He wants us to relax, thinking that this is familiar. Also, there's no monsters or anything else dangerous in this room. I would guarantee that whatever is on the other side of that door doesn't lead to the source of the energy channel. Let's try something different."

Zelda thought for a second, and took her hand off of the doorknob. "Good thinking. But what other choice do we have?"

Jack walked over to the bridge that led to the door in the stone structure. "I have an idea. You mentioned at some point that Ganondorf is the purest form of darkness, correct?"

Zelda nodded, so Jack continued. "The Master Sword is also the purest form of light, as well as the light energy that you said you can control. Can you see where I'm going with this?"

Zelda shook her head, still unsure, but took a guess. "You're saying that we're the polar opposites of Ganondorf, which I understand. Where are you going with that, though?"

Jack continued. "I don't know a whole lot about magic, but I do know that darkness is the absence of light. So what if we were to introduce light into the darkness?"

Zelda squinted at him for a few seconds. "What are you saying that we should do, then?"

Jack turned around, facing the barrier over the door. He drew the Master Sword, and walked forward, stopping a few feet in front of the barrier.

"Can you infuse the Master Sword with light energy?" He asked.

"I think so. Let me see it." Zelda said, and took hold of the sword as Jack offered it to her. Almost immediately, the sword's voice went through her head.

_You will need to infuse an enormous amount of energy into me to be able to break this barrier, but I sense that it is the only option. Push everything you have my way. I will transfer any leftover energy back to you after the barrier has fallen, so that you can defend yourself while Jack fights Ganondorf. _The sword said.

Zelda was still surprised that the sword was sentient, but did as it said. She whispered a small incantation, and filtered her energy into the blade. The process took about ten minutes, and left Zelda completely exhausted. Finally, when she was done, she handed the sword back to Jack.

"Hurry, I don't feel well." She said, and Jack placed a hand on her shoulder as she swayed.

"You shouldn't have put so much energy into it. Do we need to go find somewhere to rest?" He asked.

"No, just break that barrier." She said, and leaned against the railing on the bridge.

Jack lifted the Master Sword and glanced at the barrier, hoping that his plan would work. His idea had been to push enough light energy into the barrier that it would disappear. If this were dark energy, then it should be cancelled out by light energy. He breathed a prayer to the goddesses and stabbed the sword into the barrier.

The effect of the light energy was astounding. The Master Sword cut through the barrier like a knife through butter, and an explosion of light energy ensued. The waves of light circled around the room, disintegrating the barrier, and the dark energy stopped flowing from behind the doors.

When the light finally died down, Jack handed the sword back to Zelda, and it immediately began transferring the leftover energy back to her.

_I used about half of what you gave me. Without it, the barrier would have come back within a few seconds, before you could have made it through the door._ The sword said, as Zelda began feeling less exhausted. She stopped leaning on the rail and handed the sword back to Jack.

"I'll be fine." She said, before he could ask. "But you'll have to do most of the fighting on the way up to the top. She grabbed the handle of the door and yanked it open, stepping inside the dimly lit structure.

"Oh, goddesses." Zelda breathed.

Jack hurried through the door behind her to see what had caused her to react that way. "What is it?" He asked as he stepped up beside her, and then stopped as he looked into the room.

The stone structure contained a single spiral staircase. It started a few feet in front of them, and rose around the walls of the room. The only piece of floor in the massive room was the rock outcropping that they were standing on. The rest of the floor opened up to the molten lava below the temple. If they fell off the staircase, there would be no happy ending. Looking up, Jack couldn't see the top.

"Well, there's only one way up." Zelda said, and walked forward.

_Jack, the king of evil knows how powerful Zelda is. He will likely do something like kill her father in front of her to make her use all of her power at one time. That way, he can deflect the energy and leave her useless while he fights you. You need to warn her. _The Master Sword whispered to Jack's mind.

"Zelda, wait." Jack called out to her as she walked forward.

She turned around. "Yes?"

"The Master Sword said it predicts that Ganondorf will try something to make you expel all of your energy at one time in an effort to kill him. So be careful. Remember that you can't use your magic on him until I disable him or something." Jack said. He didn't want to bring up the possibility of the king being killed.

"All right. It doesn't have to warn me. I wouldn't do that. It's too risky." She said. "Are you ready to go?"

Jack nodded, and they started up the massive spiral staircase. The climb seemed to never end. The inside of the building didn't follow the dimensions of the outside. Jack and Zelda climbed what they guessed to be a mile before they reached the top. The few hours had taken their toll on Zelda's mental state as she began to worry more and more about her father.

The top stair came as a blessing to the both of them, as the monotony of the past few hours, mixed with the fear of what lay at the top of the tower, had been slowly whittling down their resolve. Fighting Ganondorf seemed a lot more terrifying now. Jack decided that the stairs were probably there for exactly that reason. They hadn't faced any enemies, nor had they been in danger. They had simply been given a few hours to their thoughts and fears.

The top of the stairs led to a massive door. Zelda stopped in front of it and turned around to Jack.

"Jack, I have a feeling that Ganondorf is in whatever room this door leads to. We don't know what we're going to face. We don't know how powerful he is without the Triforce of Power. We don't know anything." She said, her voice breaking at the end.

Jack didn't know what to say to make her feel better, so he walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She returned the embrace and laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm scared, Jack." She said softly.

"I am, too." Jack replied honestly. "But we have to do this. We _can _do this."

Zelda nodded, and released her hold on him. She looked up at him and put her hand on his cheek, caressing his face. "Thank you. For everything. You've done everything for me. I wouldn't be here without you."

Jack looked into Zelda's eyes. Even in this place, during the hour of his almost certain death, he could still get lost in those eyes.

"We have to go." Jack said, before he went into a stupor. "Your father is waiting on us."

Zelda took a second to steel herself, and nodded. Jack grabbed the handle on the door and pulled. It swung open easily. He walked through the darkness on the other side without looking back.

Zelda paused, but followed after him, prepared for whatever was to come next.

**BREAK**

The months of war were finally over, but the correspondence between Fajfar and Hyrule took weeks. King Duncan wasn't in a hurry to meet and discuss the terms of his surrender.

The days passed slowly, but his final letter of confirmation eventually came. We were to meet on the southern border, a few miles north of the prison that we had liberated. Neither party would bring a large contingent of guards. Fajfar's troops had been entirely pulled out by now, so there was nothing King Duncan had to threaten us with. There were even rumors of a coup within his military that had been unsuccessful.

The unconditional surrender was sounding more and more likely to happen.

John and I set out with a group of twenty guards four days before the negotiations were set to take place. Farore stayed behind to lead in John's stead, should something happen to Kakariko while we were gone. Should King Duncan try anything to us, like an ambush, Farore would be listening to my thoughts. She would know within seconds, and would be there to help in just a few more.

The travel proved uneventful. The vast expanses of Hyrule Field held no dangers, nor did the occasional pack of wolves decide that they were hungry enough to attack us. We checked on Lake Hylia on the way, finding that the Fajfi soldiers had indeed pulled out. On the third day of travel, we reached the southern border with Fajfar.

The meeting spot was a large, flat piece of land that no large force of soldiers could hide on. On the opposite side of the field was a tent bearing Fajfar's banners, and a small group of guards. King Duncan was, no doubt, inside.

We pitched our tents and prepared for the negotiations. I strapped on a set of brass knuckles underneath my gauntlet, just in case Duncan needed some convincing, and fine-tuned the edge on my sword. I made sure that my knives were all in good condition, and bleached the dirt out of my white tunic. After I had finished polishing my shield, I walked into the colonel's command tent.

I nodded at John where he sat at the makeshift table eating dinner, and sat down across from him. There were some things that I needed to discuss.

"You know that kings are usually the ones doing negotiations during wartime, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's crossed my mind. Unfortunately, I'm the highest ranking person available to meet with him while the king is out of commission, as well as Princess Zelda. The next in line for that is the lord of Kakariko, who I'm acting in the place of as he awaits his trial." John said, gulping down his soup as he finished.

"This man is a tool. He's not going to like talking to 'mere peasants.' And if I'm a part of the negotiations, I guarantee that he's going to be limping out of there. If he can even walk with my boot shoved up his ass." I said, grinning.

John smiled. "I'm counting on that, Link. He won't be walking out of there as a king. His royal family has had its time on the throne. Duncan and Jacob will be imprisoned, and the rest of the royal family will be living out their lives on farms and in villages as peasants. I can guarantee you that."

"Good." I said, and turned to the flap in the tent. "I'll see you in the morning."

I slept soundly in my tent that night, waking up refreshed and ready to tackle the issues at hand for the day.

_You'll probably end up tackling more than issues. _I thought to myself, amused at the thought of beating the crap out of the arrogant king. It certainly promised to be an interesting day. As I exited my tent, I could see the group from Fajfar was already making their way to the middle of the field.

As I walked over to John's tent, he walked out of it and nodded at me. "Ready to go?" He asked casually.

"Not yet. Let's take our sweet time. There's no rush. Besides, we won the war. They don't have any right to make us hurry." I said, and went to go find some water to shave with.

"All right, just don't take _too _long. I want to get this over with."

My morning consisted of an hour's worth of preparation in an effort to annoy the Fajfi royalty as they waited in the middle of the field. I thought I could make out Prince Jacob in the group, which surprised me. Finally, I pulled the creases out of my tunic, strapped my sword on, placed my shield on top of it, and moved to where the colonel was waiting on me. We would be the only two going, in an attempt to piss off the king. It would look like we didn't care if we went on foot without a guard.

As we set out across the field, I confirmed that King Duncan and Prince Jacob were the royal family members in the group. Five guards, all of which looked absolutely terrified, surrounded them.

_Maybe they've heard stories about what I did to their allies by now._ I thought. I didn't want to be the person that everyone was terrified of, but it was inevitable at this point. I had killed twenty thousand men in under a minute. That kind of power would never be forgotten throughout the ages. It would go down in history books as the largest massacre of all time. It wasn't something I was proud of, but it had been the main event in Hyrule's victory. Without that massive blow to Duncan's forces, Kakariko would have fallen.

As we neared the group, I saw King Duncan shake his head minutely. He didn't dismount, which was an extremely rude gesture, seeing as how he was trying to negotiate terms of surrender. Obviously, our nonchalant approach had had the desired effect. When we were ten feet away from the group, we stopped moving.

I took a step forward, speaking before King Duncan had a chance to. "Dismount and approach us, Duncan. If you want to surrender, you can come to us on equal terms."

Duncan's face was turning red. "Your king can't even be bothered with meeting me himself? I find this insulting."

I glanced up at him. "Do you know how many fucks I give about what you have to say? Get off your horse and get over here before I come over there and take you off myself."

He opened his mouth as if to speak, but couldn't find words. Prince Jacob did, though. "You will not speak to a member of the Fajfi royal family like that! Show respect, peasant."

I smiled at the young prince maniacally. "Tell you what. You can tell me what to do once you stop having wet dreams, boy. If you open your mouth one more time, I'm going to come over there with my knife and cut your lips off so that I don't have to hear your bitching. Get off your horses now, or I'm going to come get both of you down. You have ten seconds."

King Duncan made a smart move and dismounted. Prince Jacob looked as if he were about to argue, but decided to take my threat seriously and dismounted shortly after his father.

_Good decision, boy. Good decision. _I thought.

"We're here to negotiate terms of surrender. I'm assuming that you have permission from your king to continue with these negotiations. Here are my terms. First-"

"No. You don't speak." Colonel Parks interrupted. "You listen to us."

"Excuse me?" Duncan looked shocked.

"I realize that you've never lost a war before, so let me tell you how this is going to go. You're going to do what we say, simply because if you don't, there's pretty much nothing stopping us from invading Fajfar and taking you off the throne." John said.

"I will do no such thing." Duncan said angrily. "You have no idea how much power I still hold. You wouldn't be able-"

"Shut the fuck up, Duncan." I said.

"You insolent-"

"Shut the fuck up." I said again, calmly. "We will accept your unconditional surrender, or invade Fajfar and hang you after we take you off of the throne, as well as your son."

"My armies-"

"Won't listen to you. Even now, your guards should have attacked me for threatening your son, yet they didn't. Why is that, Duncan? Could they be scared? I killed twenty thousand men in under a minute. Do you really think that your army and demons stand a chance against me? I control the power of the Triforce that you wanted so badly. You can surrender unconditionally now, or I can kill every member of your military, and then hang you off of the walls of your castle as I annex Fajfar into Hyrule." I said, keeping a calm composure.

"What's this nonsense about demons?" Jacob said, but I remained staring at Duncan's face. I could see the truth in his eyes.

The king opened his mouth to deny any involvement with the demons, but I stopped him. "You sold your soul to demons hoping to gain the power of the Triforce, didn't you? They would aid you in the war, and you would aid them once you acquired it. Of course, demons can't stand up to the power of the goddesses, and I killed two of them, Duncan. They didn't even have time to scream. What can you threaten me with now?"

"I would never-"

"Duncan, you can stop speaking now. I don't give a shit about what you have to say. I also know that you're a lying sack of horse crap. The demons weren't exactly subtle. When the first one sent eight thousand Hylians to a prison in Fajfar and tried to capture the king, I wasn't fooled. You're in over your head." I continued, not giving the man a chance to speak.

"Stop speaking about my father like that!" Prince Jacob screamed out. "He did no such thing. It's probably the evil in your blasted country that brings those demons out to wreak havoc!"

I stared at the young prince for a good ten seconds, before taking a few steps towards him. The guards behind him backed away, terrified for their lives. Duncan tried to step in front of me, but I shoved him to the ground with one arm. Prince Jacob began backing away, and reached into his tunic, trying to unsheathe a blade. I jumped forward and drove my fist into the young man's jaw. I heard a loud crack as my brass knuckles connected, and the prince didn't make a sound as he hit the ground, unconscious.

"What have you done?" King Duncan asked, horrified. "Guards, attack him! This breaks every rule of negotiation! Why are you all just standing there?!"

I looked into the eyes of each guard slowly. In them, I saw only fear for their lives. "If you value your lives, don't listen to him." I took a few more seconds to look into their eyes, and turned around, seeing that my words and actions had had the desired effect.

"As for you, Duncan." I said nonchalantly. "You have three options. First option is the easy way. You give me your unconditional surrender right now and walk away unharmed."

"Second." I continued. "You don't give me your unconditional surrender immediately, and I beat you within an inch of your life. Then you give it to me. Let's call that the moderately difficult way."

I stared at him for a second before finishing. He was shaking now. "Or, you could be stubborn and be beaten within an inch of your life and still not give me that surrender. If that's the case, Hyrule's military will be invading Fajfar before you've had time to get medical attention. I'll also be taking your son prisoner, should you choose the last option."

Duncan stuttered for a second, so John spoke. "I would suggest you listen to him, because your guards have no intention of protecting you when Link follows through with his word. And I guarantee you that Link will do exactly what he promised to do."

King Duncan sighed and looked down at the ground. In his eyes, I saw defeat. "I yield." He muttered. "You have my unconditional surrender. Just don't hurt my son."

I walked towards him, and John pulled a piece of parchment and a quill with ink out of his pack. The unconditional surrender was already written out. All we needed was a signature. King Duncan took the parchment hesitantly, and read the short passage.

_To whom it May Concern_

_I, King Duncan of Fajfar, do hereby forfeit all of my powers and rights as ruler of the aforementioned country and all of its properties, holdings, and territories. In doing so, I present my unconditional surrender to King Nordica XIII of Hyrule, and Colonel Johnathon Parks, who is acting in his stead in these negotiations._

The king hesitated slightly longer, but made a mental decision and signed the bottom of the page. He shoved the parchment back into John's hands and backed away from us.

"What do I do?" He asked.

"Hylian troops will be moving into Fajfar by the end next week to get everything in order. You and your family are to leave Fajfar immediately. You are hereby banished from the lands of Hyrule and Fajfar, along with the rest of your extended family. Consider yourself lucky that we're not hanging you or imprisoning you." John said, folding the parchment and putting it back into his pack.

Duncan nodded, and I saw his eyes well up. He blinked a few times to hold back tears.

_So there's a human being underneath there after all. _I thought.

"Duncan, how many more demons are in our world? It would be in both of our interests if you tell me who and where they are. I can kill them. You can live out your exile in peace, and Hyrule will never be bothered by them if you tell me." I said, hoping that he would see my logic. If he had truly made a pact with demons, they would claim him in death, along with the rest of his family. That is, unless they were to be killed.

"There's just one." Duncan said. "His name is Bane. Quite a simple sounding name, but he is the most dangerous of the three that I made pacts with. He makes the one you killed in Zora's Domain look like a walk in the park. He swallowed a group of my soldiers into the ground when the first demon died, and razed a fortress in a few seconds with a tornado of dark flames when you killed the second. I've never seen anything so powerful. I made a horrible mistake by making pacts with those three, but I knew that I wouldn't stand a chance against the power of the Triforce without them."

"Well this just changed everything." I muttered, and then looked up at him. "Do you know where he is?"

Duncan nodded. "He took over my castle. It's become an abomination. It's surrounded completely by a flaming tornado, and draws dark energy from the ground underneath it. He's preparing for something, but I don't know what."

His words sent shivers down my spine, but a new idea came to me. "Duncan, do you regret what you did? Do you regret your quest for power? And do you regret making pacts with those demons?"

John gave me a strange look, but remained silent. He knew that I wasn't stupid. Duncan simply nodded, tears forming in his eyes again. It was clear to me that he saw the effects of his ways.

"Do you want a chance to make up for those actions?" I asked, looking him in the eye.

Duncan's mouth opened slightly, as if he was about to speak, but he closed it again. Finally he spoke. "Yes, yes I do."

"This is your opportunity. I would be willing to let you bring your remaining forces into Hyrule to prepare a campaign against this demon. If it is as powerful as you say it is, neither country will be able to stop it on its own." I said, hoping that I could take advantage of this opportunity.

Duncan's mouth now completely hung open in disbelief. "You would…you would do that for me? After all that I did?"

"Sometimes, we have to learn things the hard way. I'm not saying that there will not be consequences for your actions, but you will be given a second chance. If you survive, the king will be much more lenient with you when deciding your fate." I replied.

"Yes, please yes, give me another chance. I told myself that I would do it differently, were I given another chance. Let me bring my forces here before the demon completely destroys Fajfar. I still have half of my military, which is a powerful force. I have magicians that have been in training for years, as well. I sent thirty to Kakariko, but I have at least fifty more waiting for my next move." Duncan's expression had completely changed. He now had a look of hopefulness.

"Do that. Bring everyone that you have to Hyrule immediately and camp them outside of Kakariko on Hyrule Field. That includes every citizen. Order a complete evacuation of Fajfar. Stay away from that castle." I said, and paused while I looked him in the eyes. "Duncan, this is your second chance. You will not get a third. Don't screw it up."

"I won't." He said, and turned around. One of the guards came forward and picked up Jacob, but the former king waved him away as he turned back to me. "Will you keep my son here? Could you teach him to fight, or make him do something productive while I'm gone? He's probably got a broken jaw right now, so he's not fit to travel. And I don't want him near that demon."

I nodded, and Duncan thanked me profusely. He jumped up on his horse and barked at it as it took off towards his command tent, followed closely by his guards.

"Do you think I'm making a huge mistake?" I asked John as I threw Jacob's unconscious body over my shoulder.

"No, after I thought about it for a few minutes. Why waste all that manpower if we have a demon threat in the very near future? And those mages could come in handy. The thought of fighting a demon scares the crap out of me, but it's possible that we could simply overwhelm him with our combined militaries." The colonel said as we walked back to camp.

When we arrived, I ditched Jacob with one of the guards, and began tearing down my tent, hoping to get on the road soon. I stopped as I heard Farore's voice in my head.

_Link, I'm sensing a…disturbance in Castle Town. _She said. _I don't think it's anything serious. It's a magical disturbance, as if something just…oh…_

_What is it?_ I asked nervously.

_It's Zelda. She's back._

**BREAK**

As Jack and Zelda entered the dark room, it lit up around them. It was a large, square area, as if it had been made for a battle. It was at least a hundred feet long and wide. In the middle stood the king of evil himself, waiting for the pair.

Zelda inhaled sharply when she looked at Ganondorf, but nearly screamed when she saw the figure at his feet.

Lying on the ground, with a massive sword sticking out of his chest, was King Nordica. His eyes were empty, and a dried pool of blood surrounded his body. He had been dead for a while.

Zelda covered her mouth as a chill went down her spine. Jack quickly closed his mouth as it hung open in utter shock. He would not allow Ganondorf to weaken him. For all he knew, this was an illusion.

"What have you done?" Zelda asked quietly, holding back her sobs.

"I've rid the world of a nuisance." Ganondorf said, laughing maniacally. "Oh, you should have heard him begging for his life. He sounded like a small girl the way he cried."

Jack immediately stepped in front of Zelda and held up the Master Sword. "You will die for this. Why don't you do me a favor and come run this sword through yourself and save me the trouble?"

Ganondorf laughed again. "So foolish. You hope to stand up to me? I have the Triforce of Power, and you have a glorified piece of steel. You truly believe that you can kill me with that? Link may have been able to temporarily halt my progress with it, but I cannot be killed."

Zelda pushed Jack out of the way, and he saw fire in her eyes. She wouldn't be broken by her father's death. Not right now. She would replace her pain with anger. "You idiot!" She screamed. "You don't even have the Triforce anymore! I don't either! Link has the complete Triforce now, and you're nothing more than a wizard!"

"Princess, you are mistaken." He held up his right hand, where the Triforce was still imprinted. "It's right here."

"You're even more stupid than I thought." She said, her voice lowering to a deathly calm level. "I still have that mark as well, but I saw the complete Triforce on Link's hand with my own eyes. He received it from Farore herself. It was returned to its resting place after you were sealed here."

Ganondorf stared at her for a second. For the first time in his long life, he was at a loss for words. Finally, he decided that she was lying. "You really think that you can trick me, girl?"

"I don't have to trick you. It's the cold hard truth." She replied.

Ganondorf stared at her again, and then laughed. "We'll see about that." He paused for a second. "The two of you came here to fight me, I assume? You wish to rid the universe of my presence once and for all?"

Zelda started muttering the incantation of a spell, but Jack placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. She glanced over at him, and he shook his head. The man was insane, of that there was no doubt. But he was not weak. Zelda would only be wasting her energy if she cast a spell towards him.

"Why don't you get your sword and come fight me like a man?" Jack called out to Ganondorf, who only smiled in return.

"Oh, I'd like to. But someone would like to see you first." He said, grinning.

Jack scowled at him. "And who-"

He paused as Ganondorf knelt down and placed his hand over King Nordica's dead body.

"Don't touch him." Zelda said, still speaking unnaturally calmly.

"As you wish." The king of evil said, and stood up.

Neither Zelda nor Jack could have prepared for what followed. As Ganondorf stood up, he disappeared, and King Nordica began moving. Zelda gasped as he rolled his neck and reached up. He gripped the edges of the sword and pulled it out of his chest, and rose slowly, gripping the sword in his hand.

"What kind of madness is this?" Jack asked quietly.

"Zelda, please help me." The king's body said. His voice matched the king's, but Jack saw that his eyes were still blank. There was no doubt that this was a trick.

"Zelda, don't move." Jack said, and she looked back at him. There were tears in her eyes.

"It hurts, Zelda. Please, get me away from him. I can't move. It hurts so bad…" The undead king said.

"Please trust me." Jack said. "This is a trick."

"Jack, please…" King Nordica's body went on. He began moving towards them slowly "Please don't turn my daughter against me. Please, help me…"

Jack stepped in front of Zelda. "Get back, and stay there. Don't do anything. Don't look."

Zelda was conflicted. Jack was about to kill her father while he was begging for help, but she had just seen him dead a few seconds before. She knew that it was probably a trick, but her heart told her differently as the king pleaded with them for help. She took a step forward, but Jack caught her arm.

"Zelda, please listen to me. This is a trick. Look at his eyes. Please trust me." He said. "He's a ReDead. This is not your father."

"Jack…" She trailed, and tears began freely flowing down her cheeks.

"Go! Get back there and don't watch this!" Jack nearly yelled, pushing her behind himself. She took a deep breath and turned around, covering her eyes and sobbing.

Jack held the Master Sword at his side and began walking towards the ReDead king. Its eyes turned yellow, and it raised the sword. As Jack walked within ten feet, it lunged at him, hissing. Their swords met, and Jack threw the king to the ground. He jumped over a swipe at his feet, and put his weight into his blade as he crashed down to the ground. The sword passed through the king's dead body easily, and suddenly his eyes turned back to their previous blue. This time, they were full of life.

"Jack?" The king asked, his face full of horror as he saw the blade sticking out of his chest.

Jack's eyes went wide, and he nearly gasped, but was interrupted by the Master Sword's voice in his head.

_Pull that sword out of him! It's not real, Jack! _It nearly yelled at him. He complied, and ripped the sword from the ReDead. The body dissolved, and Jack turned around in time to block Ganondorf's sword as it came down towards his head. He had appeared behind him, hoping that he would be distracted by the king's apparent return to consciousness.

Ganondorf wasted no time trying to land more blows. Jack swung the Master Sword in every direction, deflecting the evil king's attacks one after another. Eventually, he saw an opening and swung at the man's legs.

Ganondorf jumped over his sword, avoiding the sweeping blow, and brought his sword down with lightning speed. Jack just barely rolled out of the way, and had to jump away again as Ganondorf swung to the side and tried to hit him again. The king of thieves grunted in frustration as Jack avoided yet another flurry of blows.

_Try to get over to his left side; he's not protecting it very well now that he's getting frustrated. Keep dodging his attacks rather than blocking them, it seems to infuriate him when his physical strength doesn't matter. _Jack heard the Master Sword say to him.

As he rolled to the side again, Ganondorf's sword slammed into the ground on his left. He swung upwards, slamming the Master Sword into the plate mail protecting the king's torso. Ganondorf grunted, and swung his sword around again. Just as Jack rolled out of the way, though, a burst of light filled the room. Ganondorf flew backwards through the air, shouting in pain. He was covered in yellow electricity, and crumpled to the ground as he landed.

"Jack, get him!" Zelda yelled from the edge of the room. The electricity was flowing around her body.

Jack turned around and charged towards Ganondorf as he tried to stand up. He swung the Master Sword downwards in a massive overhead cut. Ganondorf raised his sword, deflecting the blow into his left shoulder, where it completely destroyed the steel plate protecting it. Blood began flowing from the wound, but Ganondorf jumped up at the pain. He yelled, and Jack felt himself lifted off of his feet and thrown across the room. As he landed, the Master Sword rolled out of his hand and landed ten feet away.

Jack tried to stand up and run to the sword, but Ganondorf was on top of him within seconds. The king of evil kicked him to the ground and stepped on his chest, nearly crushing his ribs under his massive weight. He raised his sword, but was distracted as he deflected the light magic that Zelda fired at him.

The momentary distraction Zelda afforded Jack gave him an opportunity. Ganondorf released some of the pressure his foot was putting on his chest as he turned, and Jack wiggled around. As Ganondorf looked down and began pressing back down, Jack kicked upwards, into the groin.

The effect was immediate. Ganondorf had never expected to need to protect the more sensitive areas of his body. His overconfidence had convinced him that he would never have trouble fighting a regular guard. As he fell back, yelling out in pain, Zelda hit him with another bolt of light energy, which sent him keeling backwards.

Jack jumped up, ignoring the pain in his ribs, and snatched the Master Sword up from where it lay, and charged Ganondorf again. The king of evil was still crumpled on the ground, and only began sitting up as Jack reached him.

The Master Sword plunged down, but Ganondorf shook off the light energy and raised his sword to deflect again. This time, however, he was too late for a proper deflection, and the Master Sword stabbed into the plate mail over his heart. The armor shattered as if it were made of glass, but stopped the sword. Jack pulled back and jumped out of the way as Ganondorf swung at him again. He pivoted to the side, avoiding more blows.

He glanced to the side, hoping that Zelda could disable Ganondorf again so that he could take him out for good, but saw that she was crumpled on the ground, having used up all of her energy. Jack cursed to himself, but resolved that he could finish this fight without her. He wasn't going to die, because Zelda would have nothing to protect her while she was disabled.

Ganondorf let out a guttural yell and threw his sword at Jack, who jumped out of the way. Like a flash, the king of evil grabbed him and picked him up by the throat, holding him at eye level. He grabbed Jack's right wrist, effectively preventing him from using the Master Sword to finish the fight.

Ganondorf grinned and squeezed Jack's throat, trying to choke him, but was hit by a final, small bolt of light energy from Zelda, who Jack saw fall unconscious. He took advantage of the distraction and brought his left fist up, punching Ganondorf in the face as hard as he could. The move worked, as the king dropped him.

Ganondorf held out his hand, and his sword immediately flew into it. He laughed, and disappeared. Jack immediately sprinted towards Zelda, but was too late. Ganondorf appeared behind her, picking up her unconscious body by the hair and holding his sword to her neck.

"Drop the sword, or I kill her." He growled at Jack.

Jack stopped moving, his eyes going wide. He felt anger boiling up inside of him, but was conflicted on what he should do. He glanced down at the Master Sword in his hand, and made a decision. The sword clattered to the floor.

"That's a good boy. Now kick it away from yourself."

Jack seethed in anger, feeling a rage that he had never felt before. He kicked the Master Sword across the floor. He made sure that it didn't slide towards Ganondorf.

Suddenly, he felt his limbs moving on their own. It was the same feeling that had forced him to walk to the cabin so many months ago. Now, it forced him to walk towards Ganondorf as he held Zelda up.

"What's wrong? You can't beat me fairly, so you turn to magic? You're a coward. Try beating me like a man." Jack growled at Ganondorf, but could do nothing to stop his movement. The loss of control made his rage even fiercer. It felt like a massive pot about to boil over. His body shuddered against the control.

"You have no idea what kind of power I have, boy." Ganondorf said. "I'm going to show you, as you kill the princess with your own hands."

"You can't make me." Jack said.

"Watch me." Ganondorf laughed as Jack reached him.

Jack tried to fight the magic as his arm reached out and took Ganondorf's sword. His other arm reached out and took Zelda's hair.

_Goddesses, please help. I need all of you, right now. Please don't let him do this. _Jack prayed as his rage built up even further.

His arm turned Zelda around, and the other placed the sword against her neck. Ganondorf laughed again.

"Say goodbye." He said, smiling.

Jack's rage boiled over.

The building began rumbling, and Jack felt Ganondorf's control over him falter. The entire room began heating up, and the king of evil took a step back.

"What is this?' He yelled, a hint of fear creeping into his voice.

Jack didn't know what was going on, either. All he felt was pure unbridled rage at this man for trying to make him kill the woman he loved. The room's temperature kept rising rapidly, and the building kept shaking. Ganondorf took another step back, but fired a ball of dark energy at Jack.

Jack didn't know what he was doing, but he caught the ball of energy, and swung it around back at Ganondorf. The ball hit the king square in the chest, exploding on impact and knocking him back into the wall. Again, without truly knowing what he was doing, Jack raised his hands into the air. A giant orb of flame began growing in between them, and fire rose up from the ground around his body.

Ganondorf crawled out of the crater in the wall that his impact had caused. He clutched his ribs, groaning. He was, no doubt, realizing that the Triforce wasn't healing him like it had when he had fought Link.

The flames around Jack concentrated into the small orb, which exploded forward, engulfing Ganondorf. He screamed in agony, burning alive. The flames held for a full minute before the room returned to normal temperature and the building stopped shaking. Ganondorf's screams of pain were audible the entire time.

Jack fell to his knees, and watched as Ganondorf collapsed to the floor. His entire body was burnt beyond recognition, yet he was still breathing. Jack groaned and climbed back to his feet, stumbling towards the Master Sword, which lay halfway between himself and the king of evil. As he reached it, he groaned again and fell to his knees. As he picked up the sword, he climbed back up, completely exhausted.

Ganondorf began trying to move. Amazingly, he still had the ability to crawl away. Even through his burnt, blackened face, Jack could see the fear. Ganondorf, finally realizing that the Triforce of Power was no longer protecting him, crawled back to the wall behind him, which was slightly molten from its exposure to the flames.

Jack hardly noticed the wall melting, though. He didn't think about the fact that he had just nearly killed the king of evil with magic, which he had never been taught to use. He didn't think about anything besides the fact that this man had tried to kill Zelda. This thought fueled the hatred that kept him moving through his exhaustion.

Ganondorf was cornered. There was nowhere for him to crawl to. As he reached a solid portion of the wall, he tried to brace himself with it and stand, but was too late. Jack reached him as he made it to a halfway standing position, and brought the Master Sword down on his left leg, which had been supporting his weight. Ganondorf cried out in pain, falling back to the floor, and looked up at Jack in abject terror.

Jack looked at the king of evil in the eyes and held the Master Sword up to his throat. Ganondorf shuddered, seeing that his fate was sealed.

Jack didn't waste time. He drew the Master Sword back and brought it down as quickly as his limited strength would allow him to. Ganondorf tried to move out of the way of the blow, but had nowhere to go. The sword severed his neck in one swing, and his head rolled across the floor.

Taking one last glance at the dead body, Jack dropped the Master Sword, tired of the fighting. He collapsed to his knees, but crawled over to where Zelda lay. As he reached her, she groaned softly.

"Zelda?" He asked quietly. He reached out and grabbed her hand, then rolled her into his lap.

She reacted to the sound of his voice, and squeezed his hand. Slowly, she opened her eyes. "Jack?"

He smiled. "Yeah, it's me."

"What…where…"

Jack put his finger over her lips. "He's gone. We don't have to worry about him anymore."

"You did it?" Zelda asked incredulously. "He's dead?"

"He sure looks dead." Jack joked half-heartedly. The humor was lost in his exhaustion.

Zelda smiled, despite her current state of total fatigue. Jack fell unconscious, collapsing to the floor. Zelda fought with the exhaustion for a few seconds, but succumbed to it without much contest.

**BREAK**

I rode into Castle Town four days later, hoping to find out what was going on. The town was almost completely finished by now, and crews were beginning to work on the castle. I found Redfield within a few minutes.

He greeted me as I walked into his new house by the square. "What can I do for you, Link?"

"I'm hearing rumors that there was a magical disturbance in Castle Town. You hear anything like that?" I asked.

"Well, yes. A letter was sent to your inn in Kakariko, but for obvious reasons, you weren't there. Princess Zelda and her guard walked out of Hyrule Castle's basement the other night. They were both pretty beaten up, so we're having them tended to by doctors."

_So it's true. _I thought to myself. Farore wasn't in my thoughts right now. She would be leaving me to my own devices with Zelda, so that I felt less awkward about the conversation that I would have to have with her.

"Where is she?" I asked Redfield.

"She's in her room in the castle. It survived the blast because it was in the back. Are you headed up there now?"

"Yes." I said, and hurried out the door, calling my thanks as I ran into the street.

The sprint up to the castle took only a few minutes. I ran so fast, it was a miracle that I didn't face plant in the dirt. I may not have loved Zelda, but she was my best friend. I wanted to make sure that she was all right. I ran past the soldiers as they built up the outer walls and made my way through the cleared rubble. Zelda's room was located at the top of a tower in the back of the castle, so it took me ten minutes of running to reach her.

Finally, I ascended the tower's staircase and stopped at the large wooden door, swallowing the lump in my throat. As I was about to knock, the door opened, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. The doctor that was walking out nearly did the same.

I quickly collected myself as the doctor picked up the papers she had dropped. "Can I come in?" I asked, leaning down to help her reorganize her things.

"I think she'll be all right for a few minutes of visitors." The young woman said nervously, glancing up at me.

_This doctor is afraid of me. _I thought as she organized the papers back into a stack. I decided to soften my expression. I didn't want to scare people.

I smiled. "Thank you." I said, and handed the papers I had picked up back to her. She looked surprised at the expression, and smiled nervously, then practically ran out of the door. I pushed it open before it closed and walked into the room.

Zelda's bed was in a separate portion of the room. I had to ascend another small staircase to reach the highest spot in the tower, where she liked to sleep. As I reached the last few steps, I hesitated.

Finally, I heard Zelda call out slightly nervously. "Who is that?"

I steeled myself and climbed up the stairs. Zelda was sitting up in her bed, staring at the stairs expectantly. I tried to smile, and tears filled my eyes at the sight of her. I was relieved that she had no apparent injuries other than a few bruises and scrapes.

Neither of us spoke for about thirty seconds. We just stared at each other in near disbelief. Finally, Zelda got up from the bed and walked over to me cautiously.

"Link?" She asked.

I nearly choked on my words. "Yeah, it's me." I said with a half-smile.

She took a step closer, and then jumped forward, wrapping her arms around me. I returned the embrace, happy to see her. I tried not to think about the conversation that I would have to have with her before I left. For now, I wanted to make sure my closest friend was all right.

Finally, Zelda pulled out of the hug. "Why the hell are you wearing a white tunic?"

I chuckled. "Months apart, and that's the first thing you want to know?"

Zelda laughed. "Well, I sort of like it. It fits you."

I cursed quietly under my breath. If Farore ever figured out that she said that, I wouldn't hear the end of it. She would go on and on about how she knows fashion better and that I should just listen to her about my clothing.

"Did you actually end up in the Sacred Realm?" I asked curiously. I hadn't been able to put aside what Farore had told me. The possibility of Ganondorf being there was nerve-racking.

"Yes. Ganondorf was there." Zelda replied, confirming my suspicions.

"How did you get back then?" I asked.

"We killed him. But…" She shuddered.

"What is it?"

"He killed my father. I'm…I'm the queen now." Zelda said quietly.

I felt like I had just been trampled by a Clydesdale. Curt had been a sort of father figure to me as a teenager, since I hadn't had parents. Without him, I wouldn't have turned out as any sort of social member of society. Hearing that he had died was a major blow to me.

I didn't say anything, instead just sitting down in the closest chair so that I wouldn't pass out. I put my head in my hands and stared down at the ground. Zelda sat down in the chair across from me and told me about her months in the forest, starting from day one and ending with waking up by The Door in the castle basement. Fortunately, the passages had remained standing.

After a few minutes of her telling me the story, I put the king's death aside. I would have to deal with that in my own way later.

Zelda was leaving out certain parts of her story, but I couldn't tell what they were. There were blank spots. I decided not to press the subject, though. She would tell me what they were when she was ready.

After she had completed her story, I filled her in on all of the events of the past months in Hyrule, including the most recent run-in with King Duncan, his surrender, and the new threat of the demon Bane. I also told her of Farore's assistance in the battles. I left my relationship with her out for the moment, though.

Finally, hours after I had made it to her room, we finished our tales. Zelda looked at me a little awkwardly.

"What is it?" I asked, seeing that she had something to say.

Zelda sighed. "You seem…close with Farore. Am I reading into that right?"

I looked at her seriously for a second, weighing my options, and then decided that I needed to tell her sooner rather than later. "Yes, I am."

Zelda nodded, and for a second, I saw relief flash through her eyes. It confused me, but I kept quiet. She continued. "Do you love her?"

I looked down at the ground, slightly afraid of what Zelda's reaction was going to be. "Yes." I said quietly.

We sat there in silence for a few seconds before Zelda spoke up. "Well, I guess that this is a good time to tell you that I fell completely in love with Jack while we were in the forest with each other."

I looked up, finally understanding why I had seen relief in her eyes. "Really?" I asked, slightly relieved myself.

"Yeah, really."

"Well that's convenient." I said, chuckling a little.

Zelda looked at me. "I think we both know that it was a mistake to try to be with each other, Link. You hate power, and you would have to be king if you were with me. I would want you to be here all the time, and you would want to be out doing whatever it is you do in your free time."

I nodded, agreeing with her logic, but she stopped me. "That doesn't mean you're allowed to completely ignore me from now on. You better come back and visit when you're around. I grew up with you, and you're still my best friend. So don't think that you can hang me out to dry."

I laughed. "Will do. I'm probably going to buy one of these new houses in Castle Town anyways. I want to settle down for a little while when we manage to kill this demon. So I'll be around."

We talked easily for another hour, before I took my leave. There were no hard feeling between Zelda and I. We were old enough to accept that we had too many differences, and that we both loved someone else. The friendship should have stayed that way in the first place, and we both realized that.

I left the castle feeling good about how the meeting had gone. I had assumed that it would have made her extremely upset and it would be about half an hour of the most awkward situation of my entire life, but it had turned out to be just the opposite.

I had my best friend back.

**END**

**Please review! I get super excited when the email tone goes off on my phone because I always hope it's a review notification lol.**


	14. Chapter 14

**In an effort to get more people to read my story, I'm going to be pulling the chapters apart so that there are more of them. I'm going to divide the long ones up into two or three segments. I feel like people look at the first chapter, see that there are only 13 chapters, and move on to something else. Of course, that's not a fair call, because it's just shy of 100,000 words now.**

**But yeah, the moral of all that is that for those of you following this story, your email accounts might be exploding in a few days. I warned all of you.**

**START**

Chapter 14

Six months later

The war with Fajfar was long over.

Zelda had stepped up as Queen Zelda of Hyrule, and was officially courting newly promoted Lieutenant Jack Brandon. At this point, everyone was expecting that he would be asking for her hand in marriage any day.

Lieutenant Redfield's forces had successfully mingled with the Hylian soldiers, and had been granted full citizenship by Queen Zelda. The prison guards were not excluded. They had now stepped into the role of guarding Hyrule's prisons, and were granted the same rights as their fellow countrymen.

All of the Hylians that we had brought back from the prison had made a full recovery, and our military was gaining back much of its strength as Zelda maintained her father's training plans. She had named Jared as the official commander of all Hylian forces.

Duncan had returned two months after leaving, with nearly one hundred thousand Fajfi refugees in tow. They were camped in Hyrule Field, and were separated into two groups. One was in front of Castle Town, with the other outside of Kakariko. The size of the camps diminished each day as more and more people made room for the refugees in their homes.

Duncan had been allowed to roam freely, but had been stripped of any political power he may have had. He was now just a citizen of Fajfar. He would face a trial and likely be imprisoned for life after the demon threat was taken care of. His son, Jacob, had been given a place within the Hylian military, and had been broken by the drill sergeants. He was now a productive member of society, and was making his father proud.

As for me, I had bought a house in Castle Town upon arriving home, after finding that I had no urge to ever live in a castle again. The town was now finished, and construction on the castle was nearly halfway done. I had figured that there was no better time to buy a house. I had extra rooms that I let older refugees stay in. I wouldn't let the elderly Fajfi citizens freeze out in Hyrule Field at night.

Farore and I were still happily together, almost as if I had been born for her. I often mused with myself that that was the case. We had both decided that we shouldn't live together until we married, so she lived in her own house. It was a modest residence that I absolutely loved. I would spend most of my days there as long as I wasn't occupied with military duties. Something about its quaint, homely appearance made me wish that I'd seen it before I bought my own house. I would definitely be moving here if or when Farore and I got married.

When the marriage would happen, I didn't know. I was willing to marry Farore now, but I also wanted to marry her after peace had settled over Hyrule. She, on the other hand, was eagerly waiting for when I made up my mind.

The demon was still holed up in Duncan's old castle. Our scouts were reporting that the land around the castle had been blighted. Now, there was no life within a fifty-mile radius of the castle, and demonic creatures could be seen flying around the towers for the scouts daring enough to get close. By some accounts, it appeared that a portal to Hell had opened up underneath the castle.

When Duncan had told us that the demon was preparing for something, we had expected the worst. Now, it appeared that the creature was just planning on starving us out. If it blighted our food and water sources, we would die without a fight.

We had to strike now, before it was too late. At its accelerating pace, our mathematicians found that the blight would take Fajfar completely by the end of the following year. Hyrule would follow in another two years. That gave us about three more months to figure out what we were going to do if we wanted people to be able to live in Fajfar within the next ten years. If we didn't stop the demon, he would spread his blight around the planet, affecting much more than Fajfar and Hyrule.

Fortunately, I still had the Triforce. The sacred triangles seemed to be the only thing that would give this demon pause, according to Duncan. When he had initially summoned the demon, he had promised to help him find a way that demons could become immune to the Triforce's power.

The demon was one of the Vallasva, the most powerful of the thirteen separate types. Cerillian, the most powerful of all the demons, was of this type. In the ancient texts, Cerillian was preceded by Demise, who fell in battle at the hands of a hero from the sky. However, Cerillian was said to be considerably more powerful than Demise ever was. Fortunately, Duncan told us that this was not Cerillian.

The fact that the demon was not Cerillian didn't change the fact that it was a Vallasva, though. Many would die when we attacked the castle. I could die. It was a distinct possibility.

We had only two real advantages. The Triforce was the most obvious one, but Jack had managed to keep his hands on the Master Sword. We hoped that we could combine the power of the blade with the Triforce when the time came to fight the demon.

The Hylian soldiers had been participating in heavy amounts of training since the military had gotten back on its feet. Fajfar's soldiers were being retrained with the more effective procedures of the Hylian military, and were faring well. They would take a little while longer, but they would get there.

I lay in Farore's bed, thinking these thoughts to myself after having taken a long nap. I could hear her cooking dinner in the kitchen. I smiled at the thought of her. She had taken to cooking. From the first meal she had cooked, she had loved it.

Of course, this had paved the way to a little bit of teasing coming from me about how she was following stereotypes, but she didn't mind.

I got out of bed and straightened out my tunic before opening the bedroom door. Farore looked up from her pan, where she was frying some cucco. It smelled delicious.

"You're so shallow. You only wake up for food or sex." Farore said, grinning.

"What can I say?" I asked, laughing. "I'm just a man."

"Well I say you need some dinner." Farore said, chuckling. "This cucco is ready by now, so go sit down and eat it. I'd make you some vegetables, but all you ever eat is meat anyways."

I laughed again, and walked up behind Farore so that I could wrap my arms around her. I put my head on her shoulder, and she turned her neck around to look at me. I planted a quick kiss on her lips, enjoying our moment of affection. With all the refugees living with both her and I, we didn't get to have these moments often.

I held Farore close for a few more seconds, before the smell of the perfectly fried cucco hit me again. I grabbed a plate and pulled out all of the contents of the pan, not caring that they burnt my fingers. They were too delicious for that to be a concern of mine.

"Zelda sent a letter here earlier. She wants us at the castle for a meeting regarding the demon threat at eleven." Farore said as she began putting batter on the rest of the uncooked cucco. "I'm guessing that we're going to be heading out soon."

I nodded, glancing at the magically run clock on the wall. I still had five hours. "I figured she would respond to this threat soon. I hope that we're about to pull out and attack. I'm tired of sitting here doing nothing while that demon is threatening to destroy everything."

Farore sighed. "Yeah, me too. I'm worried about trying to kill it, though."

"Why's that?" I asked, my mouth full of cucco. "You said you've killed demons before."

"Honestly, I had so much trouble with that last one. You had to come save me. That one wasn't even a Vallasva." Farore said. She sounded deflated. "And I'm worried about you. Last time, I thought you were dead. That was the worst feeling I've ever had. In thousands of years of existence, never once did I feel like that."

"Farore, you don't have to worry about me. I have the Triforce. That demon would have to kill me ten or more times before I stayed dead." I said, trying to alleviate her worries. "And besides, you were alone last time. I'll be with you, and we've got the Master Sword back, too."

We had to cut our conversation short as three of the refugees came in the room. Unlike me, Farore had taken mothers with children into her home. She had three families living under her roof, despite only having two bedrooms. I didn't know how she tolerated it. In total, there were nine children running around her house at any given point in the day. There was hardly a quiet moment, but Farore took it with a smile.

I was bothered by the fact that I could never have a moment alone with her, but took it in stride. She was dramatically improving the lives of twelve people at only a minimal cost to our relationship. I could accept that. I would have done the same thing.

"Ellen, this cucco is amazing." One of the mothers said as she sat down and took a bite of the still steaming bird.

"Thank you." Farore said, smiling sweetly.

The conversation carried on for a while longer before I decided to take my leave. Soon, the other six children would arrive, and I preferred to be out of the house when they got there.

As much as Farore and I had kept our relationship quiet in front of the refugees, they had figured out anyways. The children always had questions about it that I skillfully avoided. I was getting more used to it.

Not wanting Farore to think I was aggravated with her as I left, I walked over to where she was boiling water for vegetables. I wrapped my arms around her from behind. She blushed slightly, not used to me being affectionate in front of others, but placed her hands over mine and looked up over her shoulder at me. I gave her a quick kiss.

"Thank you for dinner. I'll see you at that meeting tonight." I said, releasing her.

"You're welcome. Bye, Link." She smiled warmly. Her smile had never gotten old to me. It still had the same effect as the first time I had seen her. I smiled back at her as I walked out of the door.

Before I had even made it to the last step in front of the door, I heard one of the three children speak. "So Mr. Link _is _your boyfriend!"

I chuckled and made my way down the street towards the main square, where my house was. The streets were bustling with activity tonight. Zelda had a bonfire put together every Friday night in Castle Town's main square in an attempt to give the refugees some sort of warmth and comfort. Hylians would sit side by side with the Fajfi refugees and toast marshmallows if they could be found. One week, Zelda had even found chocolate, and we had made what she called a smore. The weekly bonfire had become a big deal in the past few months, even though we were finding places for more and more of the refugees.

I leaned on the wall in front of my house, welcoming people in so that they didn't have to stay in the frigid air. The bonfire wasn't scheduled to be lit for another hour, and I didn't want anyone to freeze.

As I finally walked into my house, I saw that at least fifty people had packed into the living room and kitchen. I smiled, thinking that the fifty adults were still more tolerable than the nine children at Farore's house.

_Well, forty-nine adults. _I thought as I saw a young teenage boy, probably around fourteen or fifteen years of age, work his way through the crowd towards me. He was Hylian, judging by the lighter color of his skin. He stopped in front of me, looking slightly nervous.

"What's going on?" I asked, giving the boy a small smile.

He cleared his throat, looking up at me. "Well…I was wondering…"

I waited for a second, but could see that he was too nervous to finish his sentence. "It's all right, go ahead."

"We wanted to hear a story." He said nervously.

"What? Like a fairy tale? This audience is a little old for that." I said, laughing.

"Well, no not exactly." He said. "We wanted to hear you tell about how Ganondorf died."

I gave him an odd look. "How do you know about that? Nobody is supposed to know about that."

Of course, it didn't matter at this point. The whole room had fallen silent as the boy approached me, and I could see each person waiting with bated breath.

_I guess it's better to tell them all about it than let them hear rumors._

I nodded at the boy, who looked at me entirely shocked.

"You'll tell us?" He asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I don't see why not. You all seem to know that it happened anyways." I said. "But I hope someone has a pen and paper, because this story starts twelve years ago. I was only ten at the time, still living in the Kokiri Forest…"

**BREAK**

The story took hours. It was the first time that I had ever told anyone of my adventures, besides Zelda of course. My audience was captivated, to say the least. As I finished telling the crowd about how Zelda had locked Ganon away, I glanced at my clock, finding that I only had fifteen minutes before the meeting.

The bonfire was still roaring, so I took my leave, not bothering to try to get all the people out of my house. I didn't have anything overly valuable left in there, anyways. Plus, I doubted that anyone in there would steal from me.

I pushed through the large crowd gathered by the warm fire and made my way past the castle gate, which stood open. The guards recognized me in my distinctive white tunic, and didn't bother stopping me as I walked in through the front entrance. Once inside, I made my way to the now complete throne room, where I found Zelda sitting at a table with about ten other people, including Farore.

Farore and Zelda had immediately become great friends after they had met. The friendship had surprised me, seeing as how I had courted and slept with Zelda. I had thought that Farore would avoid the queen, but she never seemed to notice. When I asked her about it, she told me that it was water under the bridge.

I couldn't have asked for things to turn out better in that regard. I was simply grateful that I hadn't been forced to choose between my friendship with Zelda and my relationship with Farore.

As I sat down next to Zelda, she grinned at me. "You're late."

"Zelda, I'm never late." I replied. "Nor am I early. I arrive precisely when I mean to."

"Yeah sure, smartass." Zelda said, laughing, and then standing.

"All right, well let's get this started." She said to the people in the room. It appeared that only high-ranking officers had made it into this room, excluding Farore and myself. Jack was on the other side of the room as well, but was hiding from plain view.

"As I'm sure all of you know, we have a demon threat. A Vallasva is blighting the lands of Fajfar, and will soon spread its poison across the planet if we don't stop it now. You guys have heard all of that so far." Zelda said. "But, what you haven't heard is that if we don't march out in the next two months, Fajfar will be uninhabitable for years, even if we're successful in killing the demon."

I saw nods around the room as Zelda went on. "You will all have an important role in the demon's downfall. In one way or another, your services are vital. I'm not going to lie to any of you, though. Many of us will die. It's possible that all of us will die. But if none of us try to kill this demon, we will most certainly die. This demon has to die, no matter what the cost to us. If anyone disagrees with that, please speak up now."

The room remained silent, so Zelda continued. "Good. For those of you who command troops, have them ready to march a week from tomorrow. We will have one more bonfire for morale purposes, and then march to Fajfar that Saturday morning. The journey will take around two to three weeks with the size of the force we're taking, but we can't afford to try to kill that demon without all of our soldiers. Make sure the men know some strategies for killing flying creatures, and have them on a very light training schedule. They need to be rested." She paused for a few seconds and scratched her chin. "I think that's it for now. If anyone has any questions, they can be addressed to me tomorrow during court. Thank you all for showing up on short notice and so late at night. You're all dismissed."

The small group of people stood up and began making their way towards the door, but I hung back with Farore and Zelda. Jack came forward from where he had been standing.

When the doors closed behind the last general out, Zelda wrapped me in a hug. "It's good to see you, Link. You hardly ever come to the castle now. I know you hate politics and nobles, but I'd really like if you would visit more. Remember that I have to deal with them every day, so I'd like to see a friendly face every now and then."

I stayed in Zelda's hug for a few moments before separating. "We'll see." I said. "I can hardly get in here in the daytime without being accosted by some nobleman accusing me of disrespecting him."

"You could just scare them into submission." Jack chimed in. "I've done it a few times. It's actually quite satisfying."

I laughed. Jack had the same opinions as I did about nobles. He just handled them better. "Better get used to it, bud."

"Don't remind me." He muttered, before changing the subject. "Are you two doing all right? Besides being overrun by refugees, that is."

"Oh yeah, definitely, except that Link gets high blood pressure around the children staying in my house." Farore said, grinning.

We talked for a little while longer before Jack and Zelda took their leave. I was made to promise a visit before the next week, since Zelda would not be marching to Fajfar with us.

As Jack left, he glanced over at me. I nodded, knowing what that look was for.

_Tonight is the night._

Farore and I walked out of the castle, and I wrapped my arm around her, trying to help her stay warm. "Sorry if I embarrassed you in front of those kids earlier." I said.

"Remember when I told you a long time ago that I don't get embarrassed?" Farore asked. "That still applies. In fact, I was happy that you loosened up a little bit. I like it when you're being all warm and friendly rather than putting on that hard outer layer like you do."

I took Farore's hand in mine and stopped walking. She turned around and looked at me, slightly confused.

"Are you all right?" She asked.

I looked deep into her eyes before I spoke.

"Just perfect."

I leaned down and kissed her, smiling as I did so. For the second time today, I was enjoying some alone time with her. It was like a miracle in itself.

As I pulled away, I looked into her eyes again. "I'm sorry I'm so emotionless on the outside sometimes. I don't mean to be. It's just how I block my worries out. With all this crap going on with the demon, I've been occupied and not paying enough attention to you"

Farore smiled. "Don't worry about it, Link." She patted my chest. "You've got a big heart, and that's what counts. I wouldn't have you any other way."

She wrapped her arms around me and kissed me for just a few moments before pulling away and speaking again. "Don't worry so much about showing affection in front of other people. I know you're trying to uphold an image, but everyone knows that you're still a regular person."

I nodded, making a mental note to try to get over my fear of public displays of affection.

I saw Farore hesitate, and immediately knew that something important was on her mind.

"What is it?" I asked.

She smiled at me. "It's almost like you're the one doing the mind reading now. In answer to your question, though, I'm worrying about this demon again. I'm just worried about you, Link. I can't lose you. I _won't _lose you. I know that sounds mushy and cliché, but it's the truth. Please don't get yourself killed."

"Farore, don't worry so much about that. Trust yourself more, too. You're going to be right there with me. If I get into trouble, you're going to have my back." I said.

"I hope so, Link. I really do." She replied, looking up at me. "But it would be safer if you just didn't get into trouble in the first place. At least attempt to kill this thing with your sword before you go ape shit on it with the Triforce."

I laughed at her vulgar terminology. "All right, I'll try. But I don't think swords are going to work on this guy."

"No, I don't either…" Farore muttered. "Let's get back, it's cold out here."

I sighed, wrapping her hand in mine. She huddled close to me as we walked, trying to stay warm. It only took a few minutes to get back to her house, but I made sure to enjoy every second of it.

As we approached Farore's door, I turned her around and kissed her again, wrapping her in my arms as I did so. She smiled and kissed me back. For a few minutes, we stood on her front door step, not willing to leave each other, until we heard a door open down the street and were forced to stop our semi-public make out session.

"Goodnight Farore. I love you." I said to her. "More than you know."

"I love you too, Link. Sleep tight. I'll see you tomorrow." She replied, and stepped inside her home.

I pulled the letter I had written her out of my pocket and wedged it in the door, knowing that she would find it first thing in the morning.

Fortunately, Farore had figured out how to stop reading my mind months ago. Otherwise, my cover would have been blown by my next thought.

_Goodbye._

**BREAK**

Jack met me around two in the morning inside my house, where I had been waiting for him. Fortunately, every refugee in my home was asleep, and we were able to slip out into the chilly air without arousing attention. Once outside, we quietly made our way past the gate guards and out into Hyrule Field.

We pulled our horses out of the nearby stables and rode hard to the west until dawn broke. Not a word was spoken between the two of us the entire time.

Finally, when the sun had made its way well above the eastern horizon, we stopped for a rest next to a small stream.

I turned to Jack as he filled his canteen. "You said your goodbyes?"

He nodded, but didn't speak for a few seconds. "She's probably waking up by now and finding that I'm gone. I left her a letter, just like you said you were going to do. I…hope we make it back from this. I don't like this. I feel guilty for leaving her out of the blue like that."

"Farore will be stepping out of her door in an hour or so to water the plants in her garden, and she'll see my letter. I feel guilty, too. It hurt to say goodbye without actually being able to. She would have stopped me, or insisted on coming with us, though. You know Zelda would have been able to convince you to stay had she found out before you left." I said, hoping that talking about it would help him.

"I know, and that's why I didn't tell her. This is something for you and me. Nobody else has to be involved. Nobody else has to die." He said.

I nodded as I remounted Epona. Jack climbed on top of his stallion, and we began pushing further west again.

Somewhere along the line, I had realized that marching an army to face a demon head on would be disastrous. The army would lose the battle, and Hyrule would fall to the blight. The demon issue demanded a different approach.

Jack, as the bearer of the Master Sword, and I, as the bearer of the Triforce, would handle this demon on our own. If the abomination didn't fall to the power of the Triforce and the Master Sword combined, then an army of men wouldn't stand a chance. Hyrule would be lost anyways.

However, if we managed to kill the demon, we would prevent thousands upon thousands of deaths. I didn't care for heroics, but this was my attempt to do some good for Hyrule. Jack and I would face this demon in a showdown between good and evil. This would be a fight between heaven and hell.

If I died in the process, my only wish would be that I could enable Jack to kill the demon with my sacrifice. If I had to pump every drop of energy I had into the Triforce to hold the demon down while Jack ripped into it with the Master Sword, I would do so.

I wasn't afraid of death. Death had found me many times, and I had spat in its face on every occasion. If I were going to die fighting this demon, I would make sure that it didn't escape unharmed. I would put my dying breath into making sure that it suffered.

I wondered whether or not I should have brought Farore, but pushed that line of thinking away.

_Farore would be helpful, but putting her life in danger isn't worth it. She already got killed one time. That will not be happening again. Not under my watch._

We rode on through the day, not stopping to rest. By evening, we could see Scorpion Pass off in the distance, perhaps half a day's ride ahead. We would be entering Fajfar by the afternoon of the next day.

Finally, when darkness settled over the land, we set up a small campfire and made a camp for the night, preparing for another long day of travel.

**BREAK**

Zelda woke to the sound of servants rushing around hurriedly outside her door. She groaned and sat up slowly, resenting being woken up by their noises. They were being exceptionally loud.

A loud, male voice boomed down the hallway. It belonged to one of the guards outside her door. "What's all this? The queen isn't taking visitors. It's much too early for that."

He paused for a second and muttered something, and then continued on louder. "What do you mean he's gone? What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"

A young woman's voice was speaking now, but Zelda couldn't hear what she was saying.

The guard paused momentarily, but spoke up finally. "Thank you. I'll get the queen."

Zelda jumped out of bed and pulled on a robe, hoping that nothing was wrong. As she ran down the small flight of stairs to the main area of her bedroom, a knock sounded on the door.

Going over to it, she pulled it open to find the door guard standing there holding a letter in his hand.

"Are you the mailman now?" Zelda asked, hoping that her joke would get a pleasant response.

The guard cast his eyes downward, and Zelda immediately dreaded what he was about to say. It was obviously bad news.

"Your majesty, one of the servants brought this letter up here from Lieutenant Jack's room. She…said he's not there. I didn't open the letter, so it may not be anything bad, and I _am _sorry if I woke you, but I thought that if this letter had something important in it, you would want to read it immediately." He said quietly.

Zelda nodded, almost afraid to open the envelope as she took it. "Thank you." She said as she closed the door.

She went over to the small table in the center of her room and sat down at a chair, placing the letter in front of herself.

_It may not be something bad. It's probably not. He's probably just gone to take care of something or another and won't be here today. That's probably it. _She thought to herself as her fingers trembled over the flap, trying to break the seal.

Finally, once the seal was broken, Zelda quickly pulled the letter out and began to read.

_My beloved Zelda_

_I know that this is unexpected, but I will be traveling with Link to Fajfar to take care of the demon. As the bearer of the Master Sword, it is my obligation to help him in his journey to bring peace to Hyrule. Hopefully, we can kill this demon with our combined power and prevent the deaths of thousands of Hylians. As this is the case, you should wait until Farore tells you of our fate before sending troops._

_I hope that you can forgive me. This isn't something that I wanted to hide from you, but I knew that you would convince me to stay if I had told you about it. If I die on this journey, then I want you to know how much I love you. I wish I had the right words to tell you just how much, but I don't. _

_I leave you now with a promise, as that's all that I can offer you._

_I will do everything in my power to return._

_With all my love_

_Jack_

Zelda sighed as she read the last words of the letter, and tried to hold back her tears. After a few seconds, though, they burst out. Nothing could have prepared her for this.

She cancelled her court and sobbed in her room for the rest of the day, until the merciful hand of sleep finally took her.

**BREAK**

Farore woke up early so that she could go out and water her plants, like she usually did. She was beginning to be very proud of the little garden that she had been growing outside. Her house looked much better with all the colorful flowers surrounding it. The only downside was that they all required so much maintenance.

As she opened the front door, she was surprised to see a letter flutter to the ground.

On it was her name. Her real name. Not Ellen.

_Farore_ was scrawled on the front of the envelope.

She looked at it in slight disbelief for a few seconds. Who would be leaving her a letter that actually knew her name? Zelda would have just come herself, had she had something to say, as she tended to wander around Castle Town anyways. Jack would have been attached to Zelda at the hip, so it wasn't him, either. Colonel Parks wouldn't have sent her a letter. That left only one option.

_Link._ She thought to herself as she snatched up the letter from the ground. He would have known that she would be the first out of her door in the morning. He would have known that nobody else would see the letter before she did.

She looked at the writing more carefully. It was definitely Link's messy, left handed writing. He always turned the paper and wrote vertically to compensate for his handedness. Otherwise, the ink would smear. Since he was the only known left-handed person, his handwriting was distinctly different than everyone else's.

Farore hurriedly broke the seal, desperate to find out what he had to say that couldn't wait until the next time he saw her. As she began reading the letter, she almost wished that she hadn't.

_Farore_

_I wish that I could have told you goodbye in person, but I wouldn't have been able to convince you to stay in Castle Town. Jack and I have departed for Fajfar, where we hope to use the Triforce and Master Sword to kill the demon. It will not be easy, but I'm confident that we can do it if we combine our powers._

_If I were in front of you right now, you'd probably berate me for leaving without you, and for that I'm sorry. But I'm not willing to put you in harm's way. If we fail, you're the only thing standing between that demon and the total destruction of Hyrule. _

_But we will not fail._

_I will be back. That is my promise to you. Throw away all the thoughts and possibilities running through your mind, and leave only that promise. I will not die. I'll go through hell and back to make it home to you._

_I love you, Farore. Stay strong. I'll be home soon._

_Link_

Farore trembled as she walked inside and sat down at the table. She held the letter for well over an hour, reading it until she could have repeated it from memory. Tears flowed freely down her face, but she didn't notice.

Link was headed into certain death, and she was powerless to stop it.

**END**


	15. Chapter 15

**Back to school! And I have a tonsil infection, so I'll be in my room resting and writing for a while. Maybe I'll have something else out pretty quick.**

**But anyways, I want to thank Blissis33 and erico637 for their support. They made me happy when I woke up to find their reviews.**

**START**

Chapter 15

The sun rose above Hyrule to find Jack and I already on the road. The night had been cold, and we had been restless. The thought of what waited at the end of our journey had kept both of us awake long after we had laid our heads down.

Scorpion Pass was just a few miles ahead, casting its ominous shadow into the valley in front of us. The pass was terrifying enough during times of peace, but looked even more intimidating now. Up on the top of the pass, my eyes caught a few fleeting movements.

I turned to Jack as we drew nearer to the entrance. "Keep your eyes peeled. I saw movement, and I don't think my eyes are playing tricks on me."

He nodded. It was a distinct possibility that bandits would be out and about right now, trying to take advantage of the war-torn countries. They would know that there would be helpless refugees everywhere.

All was still as we entered the narrow pass. The narrowest part was about ten miles down, and would pose the greatest danger. There, the cliff faces were within bowshot of each other, making it much easier to be surrounded by archers. Epona was calm, though, so I relaxed a little.

_Epona has never failed me before. Why would she fail me now? And even bandits should be smart enough to stay as far away from Fajfar as possible._

Jack kept glancing upwards nervously, ready to jump into action should the slightest detail be out of place. For hours, we rode in complete silence, watching and waiting.

Yet nothing happened. For hours, we pushed onwards without any trouble. I began to relax even further, trusting Epona to warn me should something be wrong. Jack even dozed off along the way.

We continued onwards, through the narrowest section of the pass. Still there was nothing wrong, so I allowed myself to slip into the mindless rhythm that tends to ensue during long trips on horseback. I yawned and glanced around again before settling again. There was obviously nothing here that would hurt us.

**BREAK**

"And what do we have here?" I heard a voice say. It sounded like Jack, but I wasn't sure.

I opened my eyes and blinked a few times. I hadn't noticed that I'd drifted off to sleep. The world was still a little fuzzy.

"What is it?" I asked Jack, squinting into the bright, midday light that filtered down into the pass.

"What?" I heard him ask as he jerked awake.

My vision cleared, and I realized that Epona was no longer moving. She had stopped in a small clearing, staring ahead with her ears pinned back against her neck. Ahead of me stood a giant man holding an equally large sword. The sword was easily a foot wide, and five feet long. The man himself stood close to eight feet tall. His scarred face sported a matted, black beard that hung down to his chest. His black, beady eyes stared at me.

"Caught you napping." He said, grinning.

"Yeah, you did. Good job. Now if you don't mind, I've got places to be." I said, nudging Epona forward. To my left, I saw Jack staring at the giant man, still in shock. Waking up to the sight of this creature wasn't a pleasant experience, so I could hardly blame him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. There's thirty men on the top of the cliff faces with longbows." He said. "They won't hesitate to kill you."

I stopped Epona, agitated, and glanced at the cliffs to either side of me. There wasn't a soul to be seen.

"Yeah, sure." I said, calling his bluff, and pushed Epona forward again, aiming to give the man a wide berth. Jack nudged his horse in step with mine, and we began a small circle around the giant. After a few feet, however, the man spoke again.

"You have five seconds before I call them up to shoot you."

"You're full of shit." I said, not stopping Epona as I rode around the man. "Leave me alone, I have better things to do than kill some pathetic highway-"

An arrow whistled past my face, missing me by mere inches. I was forced to halt Epona. Apparently this man wasn't bluffing. The thirty archers he spoke of could now be seen clearly as they stood up. We were surrounded.

He grunted, slightly amused. "It's all tough talk until the threat of death really arrives. You still think I'm kidding?"

"No, I guess you're not." I said. "What do you want from us? We have no money."

"We'll see about that." The man said. "As for what I actually want from you, give me all your valuables. Your swords, shields, armor, horses, everything. If you cooperate, you'll walk away from this alive. You might even have your clothing on, but I wouldn't count on that after you disrespected me like that a minute ago."

"So this _is _a highway robbery. You hope to take advantage of refugees and small groups of soldiers by ambushing them where they can't run?" I asked. "Well, we're not refugees, nor are we simple soldiers. You don't want to fight us. Walk away now." I said, staring the man in the eyes.

The bandit laughed and snapped his fingers. Immediately, shapes began appearing out of the grass on the sides of the trail. Men in green and gray mottled cloaks appeared as if out of nowhere from the tall grass.

"Simple soldiers or not, I guarantee that you don't stand a chance. This is organized crime at its finest, young man. You've got quite a few men surrounding you now, plus the thirty archers. Why don't you just go ahead and hand over everything?" The man said.

I sighed. "All right, I see how it is." I rolled off of Epona, landing lightly on the ground, and slapped her rump. She immediately turned around and barreled in the opposite direction, past the cloaked men, and back towards Hyrule. Jack jumped off of his horse, and it bolted after Epona without needing a slap.

"If you think you're so badass, why don't you prove it and fight me in single combat?" I asked, hoping to kill their obvious leader and take control of the group. Seeing their leader die would demoralize the men and cause them to be reluctant to attack me.

"What do you take me for? An honorable man? I'm shaking you down, and you think that I would want to kill you fairly? You're wrong, young man. You have one more chance to hand over your belongings. I will not ask again." The leader said.

"Well that's good. I was getting tired of you asking." I replied, drawing my sword. I heard the ring of the Master Sword as Jack drew it from its sheathe behind me. All of the archers on the cliffs had arrows trained on me within seconds, but none of them fired. I was too close to their comrades for them to let arrows fly.

For a few seconds, I stared down the leader of the group, wishing that he would leave me alone. Finally, I readied myself to attack the man and kill him in one fell swoop. As I jumped forward, though, I felt a pinch in my torso.

I knew what this was, but I looked down anyways.

An arrow was sticking out of my chest. I had to admit; it was an unnerving feeling, despite the fact that it wouldn't kill me. The Triforce would make sure of that.

I laughed and pulled the arrow out. "You can't kill me like that. Although, it put a nice chink in my chain mail, which I resent. This stuff is expensive."

For a brief second, the giant's eyes flashed with fear, but he quickly regained his composure. He waved his hand in the air, and his men responded as one, charging me. I pulled out my sword, hacking away at the bandits as they ran forward. One after another, they fell, and were replaced with more. For every man I cut down, two appeared in his stead. I heard Jack's sword cleaving through flesh and bone behind me, but not fast enough.

Swing after swing, I cut the men down, but was slowly being overrun. I wondered why they weren't trying to kill me, but was distracted from that thought when one of the bandits crashed into my back. I stumbled forward, but managed to elbow the attacker in the ribs. He slipped off as I rolled, but I was immediately assaulted by three more. One kicked me in the ribs, another grabbed my left arm, and the final one clamped his arm around my neck.

In the background, I heard Jack grunt in pain as he hit the ground. There would be no help coming from that direction.

In a last ditch effort, I willed the Triforce to explode its energy around me. I closed my eyes, and the triangles glowed on the back of my hand.

But nothing happened.

There was no explosion, and the bandits only briefly paused at the sight of the glowing figure on my hand before one of them spun around and roundhouse kicked me in the face.

The world went black.

**BREAK**

"Zelda, you can't possibly think that you're going after those two." Farore said, grabbing the queen's wrist.

"Yes, I am. They're going to need help. Two men can't take down a demon." Zelda replied, snatching her wrist away and trying to mount her horse.

The stables in the castle had emptied quickly as the servants saw Zelda enter in a rage. They weren't used to seeing her so upset, as she usually kept her cool through every situation.

Farore had come to talk to Zelda, hoping that she could find some consolation with her friend. She had accepted that Link was out of reach, but it hadn't helped her mood.

Instead, she had found Zelda in an angry rage. She had locked herself in her room, which Farore had convinced the guard to unlock. As he did so, Zelda had burst out and sprinted down the hallway, screaming that she was going to go after Jack and Link.

Farore had finally caught the distressed queen at the entrance to the stables, and was trying to calm her down.

"Zelda, you won't be able to help them. I can't even help them. You're just going to get yourself killed! You'll be one woman riding through the countryside alone. Jack would throw a fit if you managed to catch him." Farore said, trying to get Zelda to slow down and think. "Don't let emotions cloud your better judgment."

Zelda stopped dead from where she was trying to mount her horse again. After a few seconds, she turned around slowly. She spoke in a fierce whisper "You think _I'm _letting emotions cloud my better judgment? You're the one who isn't doing _anything _to help those two. Don't you dare try to let your own fear of that demon rule me. I'm not the one afraid."

"Zelda, please. Just stop and listen. Breathe for a few seconds. You're not yourself-"

"I _am _myself!" Zelda screamed. "Myself wouldn't let Jack and Link run off into the wilds to try to kill a demon! Myself wouldn't allow them to go with anything smaller than an army! Myself would go help them and not care about her own life!"

"Zelda-"

"Shut up!" She yelled, pushing Farore to the ground. She turned around a tried to step into her horse's saddle, but lost her balance almost immediately and fell backwards.

Without a word, Farore got up quickly and caught her before she hit her head on the stone floor.

Zelda was sobbing now. She crawled over to the nearby wall, put her head in between her knees, and cried. Farore stared at her for a second, but walked over next to her and sat down. She put her arm around the queen and held her close, trying to console her.

Zelda laid her head on Farore's shoulder and cried for a few more minutes. When she had finally reduced her tears to sniffling, she spoke.

"I'm sorry I pushed you, Farore."

"It's all right, I understand." Farore said. Although the action had aggravated her, she could feel Zelda's pain. Of all people, Farore would be the one to understand that anger could turn even the kindest-hearted person into something entirely different. Today, Zelda was that person.

"No, it's not." Zelda replied. "You're my only friend. You're the only one who is looking out for me now that…Jack is gone. I shouldn't have…" She trailed off and shuddered.

"Zelda, it's all right. You're going through a stressful time." Farore said. Tears had come to her eyes when Zelda had told her that she was her only friend. She had never known that she was so important to the queen.

"So are you, and you don't act like that."

Farore didn't have a response to that, so she just hugged Zelda closer. For a while longer, they just sat there.

Finally, Zelda picked her head up and looked over at Farore with bloodshot eyes. "How do you do it? I know that Link leaving is bothering you, but you don't show it."

Farore thought for a second, but finally decided on her answer. "Link promised that he would come back to me, so I took him for a man of his word. If he says he will come back, he will. And if he comes back, Jack will, too. Link doesn't leave anyone behind."

"That's it? He promised, and you took his word?"

"Well, no. That doesn't mean I'm not worried for him, but Link is a grown man. He has to be the judge of whether or not this is within his ability or not. Not me. Had he asked, of course I would have told him that it was out of his league. But I don't actually think it is. You and I both watched him kill Ganondorf. That was when he was younger and less experienced. Now he's older, stronger, and more skilled, whereas his enemy is most definitely weaker than Ganondorf." Farore said matter-of-factly.

"Ganondorf was more powerful than a Vallasva?" Zelda asked incredulously.

"Yes, but only barely. I guess this needs an explanation, though. Ganondorf was the reincarnation of Demise, who ruled the demons thousands of years ago before Hylia, with the help of both yours and Link's ancestors, killed him. However, he stored much of his power away as your forefather drove the Master Sword into him." Farore said. "That power was hidden for years, until Ganondorf was born. So, in essence, Ganondorf is one and the same as Demise, while still being a separate person. He absorbed the power of the demon king, who is the most powerful of all the demons."

She continued. "It was at that point, when the Hero of the Sky killed Demise, that Link was destined to kill Ganondorf. Evil never prevails in the end. Throughout Hyrule's history, someone has always stepped up and rid the land of the evil that haunts it. You had the misfortune of living in one of those times."

"So is Link destined to kill this demon as well?" Zelda asked hopefully.

"That, I don't know. I was never one to look into the future too much. I was always sort of into Link, though. As creepy as that sounds. I pretty much stalked him. I knew everything that would happen up until the point where he killed Ganondorf." Farore said. Her words elicited a small smile from Zelda. "And besides, the demon is Fajfar's problem, not Hyrule's. Now that I think about it, though…"

"What?" Zelda asked, her smile quickly disappearing.

"Din was always the one to look into the future. She never made any mention of this demon affecting Hyrule. She mentioned Demise, Ghirahim, Ganondorf and Zant, but never an overly dangerous demon." Farore said, scratching her chin. "If that's the case, that would mean that the demon's blight never reaches Hyrule."

"Who is Zant?" Zelda asked inquisitively.

"A guy that you don't need to worry about. He's well past your time here." Farore replied

"Well then does that all mean that Link and Jack come back?"

Farore remained silent for a few seconds, but finally answered. "I won't lie to you and give you false hope. It doesn't necessarily mean that. Din may not have looked deeper into this piece of history. She also may have just not mentioned it. Or, it's also possible that the demon is killed and the blight stops, but Link and Jack never make it home. Of course, there's a very good chance it means that the demon is killed, Link and Jack return, and all is well."

Zelda sighed. "Is there any hope Farore? Really. Be honest with me."

Farore nodded. "There is always hope. Evil never truly prevails. We may be screwed and destined to live as old maids, but evil will never truly prevail in Hyrule. So yes, there is hope."

Zelda sat in silence for a few minutes, pondering this wealth of information that she had been given.

After a long while, the queen spoke. "Will you stay with me tonight? I don't want to be alone."

Farore smiled and nodded. She needed Zelda just as badly as Zelda needed her.

They both stood up, and Farore wiped the smeared make-up off of the queen's face before they headed into the castle.

**BREAK**

"Damn it, Link. Wake up!"

The voice penetrated through my head and I groaned. Pain shot through my forehead as I moved, and I had the mother of all headaches. My entire body felt numb, but I could tell that something was poking into my back.

As I slowly opened my eyes, ignoring the shooting pains caused by the dim light, the voice came again.

"Link, you're a fat pussy. Get the hell up or we're screwed."

I groaned again and opened my eyes fully. As my vision cleared, I saw that Jack was the one bothering my beauty sleep. He was kneeling over me, a concerned look on his face.

"What the hell do you want?" I asked.

"They've got us in a giant cage and they took all of our stuff. I think they're trying to sell us on some underground slave market." Jack said, panicked.

I lifted my head up, ignoring its protests, and looked around. All around us, there were cages. People were packed into each of them. Most had only light clothing on. Around us were a large number of underworld-type men, browsing through the cages. One of them turned and spoke to another.

"These are all refugees. They won't do. Not for the kind of work I want them to be doing. They need to know how to fight."

The second man responded. "Those two over there might be good for you. What is it they're going to be doing?"

"I have a good amount of people and an even better amount of money in sending soldiers into an arena to kill each other. People watch, laugh, and give me their money for blood."

"Ah, I see. Well those two over there are definitely soldiers. More like warriors. They took down around thirty-five of my boss's men with nothing more than swords. The lot of them swarmed 'em, too. You interested?" The second man asked.

"How much for the two of them?" The first one replied.

"Three thousand rupees."

"Bullshit, I'm not paying that much. Two thousand max."

"These are the best fighters under the sun. Twenty-five hundred and I'll throw in all the gear they had with them."

The first man stopped and thought for a few seconds. He walked over to the cage I had been locked in and stared at me. I ignored him, not giving him the pleasure of seeing me respond to being sold like cattle.

"All right, we have a deal under one condition. I want to see the blue-eyed one fight. If he turns out to be a bust, I'll run you through right here for lying to me."

I was annoyed at being called the blue-eyed one. 'The muscular one' or 'the dangerous looking one' would have been more acceptable.

The seller grunted. "You know how dangerous that one is, right?"

The buyer smiled. "I won't know until I see it firsthand. Let him out, and I'm going to go get my men. Give him his sword and shield, as well. I'll make sure he's surrounded so that he doesn't try anything funny."

I glared menacingly at the two men in front of me, but they didn't see.

_If they want a show, I'll be giving them one. Right before I cut their heads off._

The buyer would die first.

I couldn't believe that they were giving me back my sword and shield. They had left my chain mail and tunic on, as well. I couldn't figure out what was going through their minds. Surely there was one decently intelligent person here. I was obviously not your average soldier. Jack wasn't either, for that matter. I wondered if they were taking some sort of drug that affected their common sense.

When the guards had moved out of earshot, I turned to Jack. "What the hell are they thinking?"

Jack remained silent for a few seconds before speaking. "I don't know. They're just bandits and underground types, so we can't expect a whole lot of intelligence out of the lot."

I grinned and looked back to the entrance to the small yard we were in. The door opened, and the same two men that had been talking earlier came out of it carrying my possessions. Nearly thirty men filed out after them, all carrying broadswords and battleaxes.

Jack hurriedly tapped my back. "Link, the Master Sword is in that third big guy's sheath. If you manage to get it to me, I can cut my way out of here and help you. You're bound to be overwhelmed quickly without me."

I nodded in acknowledgement. "This time, we get each other's backs. Don't get separated from me. Had we worked together initially, none of this would have happened."

We both sat and waited as the large group approached us. Five of the guards broke off and came over to our cage with a key. As the lock dropped off, I stood up and walked towards the cage's door. When I reached it, the guard looked up at me.

"Any funny business and I'll run you through before you have time to jerk off." He said.

I chuckled and looked at the man. "If we were talking about you, I'd probably disagree with that last statement. But that's not very scary the way you put it. That would give me at least an hour to live."

The guard laughed. "We'll see how big you talk when you're bleeding out." As he opened the door, he kicked out at me.

I easily dodged the blow and slipped out of the cage. Some of the other guards heckled the man that had let me out, but I ignored it, instead walking over to my pile of weapons and armor. I strapped my sword on, with the shield soon following. Next, I pulled on my boots and golden gauntlets. My hat followed.

Turning around, I drew my sword. The guards had formed a circle around me with their weapons drawn, discouraging any attempted escape.

"Who's first?" I asked calmly.

"Nancy, you go." The slave owner said. I looked at the man who stepped out from the circle, and almost laughed. Nancy was a man rivaling the size of Ganondorf. His body was covered in solid muscle. There was nothing feminine about him, save for his name. I guessed that it was probably a nickname, but decided to make fun of him for it anyways.

"Nancy? What kind of name is that? Were your parents too busy sucking each other's dicks to give you a real name?" I taunted.

The man grunted at me, obviously displeased. "You die slowly."

"What are you going to do? Beat me with your massive beef curtains until I die from the smell?"

_Damn, I'm on a roll._

The giant man lunged forward, lifting his enormous axe above his head and bringing it down on top of me. It missed me by mere inches as I stepped to the side.

I decided to drag the fight out, hoping to get a chance to scoot closer to the cage that Jack was still stuck in. Nancy swung at me again and again, becoming increasingly frustrated as he missed time after time. Slowly but surely, I was letting the man push me back towards the cage.

The crowd was cheering now. With each swipe, the guards would call for blood, and sigh as the enormous man missed yet again.

Finally, I dodged my way over to the cage. The guards near it parted, but I had my sights set on one of the men standing about ten feet away. The blue hilt of the Master Sword shone in his sheath. I worked my way towards him and halted about three feet away.

He moved back slightly as Nancy came barreling towards me, swinging his axe again, but I dodged easily. Finally tired of this charade, I whipped my sword up and slid it through the giant man's ribcage. He died immediately, not even able to feel his body hit the ground.

Without warning, I pulled the sword out of his side. The group of men surrounding me was so in shock, that they had dropped their guard. The man with the Master Sword was quickly beheaded, as well as three men standing next to him. I ripped the sword from the dead man's sheath as he fell, and sprinted over to the cage, wielding both blades and hacking away as I ran..

The guards were finally realizing what was going on, but were in total chaos. All of those in front of the cage dived away from me in fear. As I reached the door, I pulled my sword back and carried my momentum into a swing that busted the top off of the lock. Jack immediately threw open the door and grabbed the Master Sword from my hand.

The first guard to finally get his act together and attack us was quickly hacked to pieces by Jack as he moved to my side. With the cage behind us, we would be able to focus only on our fronts. Getting surrounded was impossible.

Guard after guard attacked us, but fell immediately. I marveled at the efficiency with which we could kill when we worked together. As much as I didn't enjoy killing, I was glad to rid the world of scum like these men.

They didn't stand a chance with their giant, cumbersome weapons. Within minutes, we had hacked the last man to pieces. Unfortunately, the slave owner and buyer had fled early on in the fighting, and I hadn't gotten a swing at them.

_Oh well. At least I scared the crap out of them._

"So…What do we do next?" Jack asked casually.

"I didn't think this far." I said honestly, taking a look around. The building in front of us was the worst possible place to go. On my left and right, there were guard towers in the distance. However, behind me was a single ten-foot tall fence with only one guard tower. From this distance, the guard appeared to be asleep.

"This way." I said quietly, but Jack stopped me.

"Link, all these people…"

I looked around, remembering that Jack and I had not been the only prisoners. There were at least twenty separate cages. All of them were fill with frightened refugees, including women and children.

My common sense told me that we needed to get out of here. More guards would be coming momentarily, once they got themselves together. But as much as I wanted to leave, I pulled my shield off and began bashing the locks off. One by one, the cages opened, and the people flooded out. Jack eventually picked up a large rock and began working on the cages opposite me.

The entire process took only minutes, much to my relief. As the last lock fell off, I got the group together, trying to give them some type of instruction.

"We're all going to charge that fence behind us and knock it down." I yelled.

I saw the refugees nod in affirmation. With so many people, taking down the fence would be easy. I began sprinting forwards, hoping that they would follow. It took only a few seconds to get to the far side of the yard, where Jack quickly joined me. The refugees followed, running straight into the giant, imposing wall of wood.

I heard a few grunts from those who had been sandwiched between the crowd and the fence, but saw the support bars bend significantly. The refugees rammed the fence again, with the same result. On the third try, the metal supports gave, and we were through.

Behind me, I heard a commotion as guards started pouring out of the door to the main building. They were yelling and cursing, but were too far away. Even as they ran towards us, I led the refugees over a nearby hill. About half a mile away, I could see the edge of a large forest.

For hours we made our way away from the bandit camp. The trees provided cover for our escape, but quickly made us lose our way. We walked aimlessly, hoping to find a game trail.

For whatever reason, I sensed uneasiness among the people following me. They looked around nervously most of the time, and jumped at every small sound. The sight of a squirrel running in front of us drew some screams, but I paid them no mind. I attested the reactions to having been captured and locked up in cages.

Finally, we stopped. The sun was setting, and it was getting cold. As the refugees tried to settle in, I stood up in front of them.

"Does anyone know where we are?" I asked loudly.

One man tentatively raised his hand in the air. I nodded at him, and he spoke. "We're in the Dead Woods."

"The Dead Woods?" I asked.

"Yes, the Dead Woods." The man replied.

"What's so special about them? Why are all of you jumping out of your skin every time a twig snaps?"

The refugees looked at each other nervously. Finally, one spoke up. "You must be from Hyrule if you don't know about the Dead Woods. Those who stay in the Dead Woods for more than three days will never return."

I looked around at the peaceful forest. "Doesn't seem very intimidating. Don't worry, though. We'll be out of here in less than three days."

More nervous looks moved around the camp, so I decided to try something else. "Does anyone know the way out?"

A few people shook their heads, and a young woman spoke up. "Nobody comes in here for any reason. It's dangerous. The trails have never been mapped. If we're lost, we're screwed."

_Great, now he's gone and gotten everyone bent out of shape._

As the group of refugees exploded in panic, I was reminded of how fickle a crowd could be. One second, they would love you. Then, before you knew it, your good deeds would be forgotten, and you would be the bad guy. Jack raised his hands up, trying to get everyone to settle down, but it was no use.

I simply stood there, staring at the frightened refugees. After a few minutes, they quieted down, seeing that I had something to say.

"We've been in here six hours, which means that we have sixty-six more to get out before we're lost forever. I'd say sixty-six hours is plenty of time. Which direction is the castle from the woods?"

I heard a few of them mutter that it was west, so I continued. "I'm headed to that castle, so we'll just head in a straight line west. We should be out of the forest in no time as long as we're constantly checking our direction."

"That castle has a demon in it! I'm not going anywhere near it!" One woman yelled.

"I'm not taking you guys to the castle. Once we get out of the forest, you can all break off to the east and head towards Hyrule. You all need to get out of Fajfar as soon as you can." I said clearly.

"We'll just get captured again. Those bandits in Scorpion Pass took us by surprise once already. There's no way we could fight them if they tried again." A man called out.

"Look, you all have to keep calm. If you panic, it will only make the situation work. If you're worried about the pass, then go south. If you travel around the mountains, you can go to the southern border. It will be a much longer journey, but also much safer. I'm not going to be with you all when we get out of here, so you're all pretty much free to do what you want." I said calmly. "Just get out of Fajfar."

They all sat in silence, looking up at me.

"Take six hours to sleep, then we're moving on. We'll set out in a straight line due west, and hopefully be out of this forest by the end of tomorrow." I finished, and walked off. I sat down on a large tree trunk about thirty feet away, weary of having to lead these people.

Jack walked up behind me and sat down. "Don't read too much into this statement, but you would have made a fantastic king had you stayed with Zelda. The way you lead people so effectively confounds me. You calmed down a panicked crowd in minutes."

I shrugged. "I would have hated every second of being a ruler. I despise leading people. I like to work on my own."

"Nonetheless, you would have made a great monarch. You'll have to teach me how to do it one day, before…well yeah." Jack said, twiddling his thumbs.

"What were you going to say?" I asked, curious.

Jack paused for a few seconds, and then sighed. "I'm going to ask Zelda to marry me, Link. Whenever we make it back, that's the first thing I'm going to do. But it makes me nervous, to say the least. If she says yes, I'm going to be a king."

I stared at him intently for a few seconds, and then looked away. "You'll make a fine king, Jack. Don't worry so much about it. Just don't forget who you are."

Jack nodded. "I hope I won't. I've heard stories about Zelda's ancestors. I hope that I never go down that path."

"You won't." I said quietly. "You're a good man. You would never follow that path."

"I hope not…" He trailed off "But you never know. It's scary. Ruling a country isn't a joke. I don't know if I even want that kind of power."

"That's why you'll make a good king, Jack. The ones who want that kind of power are the ones who are driven mad by it. You'll have no such problem." I responded. "And besides, Zelda will be there with you. She's probably as levelheaded as you can get. If you started abusing power, she'd probably bitch slap your brain out the side of your head."

"Well that's good to know." Jack muttered.

We were silent after that. As time went on, I slowly relaxed and drifted off to sleep.

**BREAK**

The next day proved to be very uneventful. We travelled west for about ten hours before the foliage began to thin, and found a game trail leading to the outer edge of the forest. We hadn't been harassed or had our progress impeded by anything.

As we walked out of the western edge of the forest, I heard the refugees let out a collective sigh of relief. Even I had to admit that what they had told me about the forest was worrisome, even if it was probably just an old wives' tale. Looking back at the peaceful green trees, I could hardly imagine them being menacing at all.

_Not like the Lost Woods, where if you take one wrong step, you'll be lost for the rest of your life. And death._

I made sure to take the group a good distance away from the woods before I turned to them and spoke.

"This is where we part." I called out. "Like I said, it will be a lot safer to go south, around the mountains. Cross the border into Hyrule, and you will be spotted quickly by a patrol. You can trust them. Many of your friends and relatives are living in Hyrule right now as refugees."

The people whispered among themselves for a few seconds. Finally, a single man spoke up. "What do we do if we're attacked?"

I looked at the man. He was familiar, having spoken up many times in the past day. He was younger, probably even more so than me, but looked and acted like a leader. After I was done studying him, I responded. "If any of you are good at fighting, search through abandoned homes and villages on the way. Find weapons and arm yourselves. If you see anything suspicious during your travels, stop moving immediately. At a distance, even a hundred people can blend into the background. Take advantage of that."

Before I was done speaking, I looked at the young man who had spoken up so many times.

"What's your name?" I asked him.

He looked confused for a second, but answered. "It's Malcolm."

"Malcolm, you're a natural leader." I said, and then continued to the rest of the group. "You would all do well to listen to and support him."

A few of them nodded, and the others went with it. This man had done most of the speaking. Whether or not he would be a good leader, I didn't know. But if he wasn't, it wasn't a big deal. The trip would only take a few weeks. Someone could replace him if he turned out to be a total idiot.

I had to admit, though, that this group's fate was far from the forefront of my mind. The fate of Hyrule was hanging in the balance, and only Jack and I could stop this demon. If we succeeded, many more people than those in this group would survive. If we failed, they would all die anyways.

_No, Link. Even if you fail, someone will step up. Someone always steps up. _I thought to myself.

Jack and I parted from the group shortly thereafter, hoping that they would be able to take care of themselves. We were on foot now, having sent our horses away right before we got captured. It would take quite a while longer to cross Fajfar as a result, but it didn't matter to me. If I spent more time traveling, I could spend more time thinking about how I was going to kill this demon.

So far, the only thing that I knew for sure was that the Triforce's power would kill a demon. Unfortunately, there were many different variables.

The two demons that I had used the Triforce on originally had been demons of much weaker classes. This one would be much stronger.

Also, the Triforce hadn't worked the last time I had tried to use it, so I had lost some faith in it. Had that been a fight with a demon, I would have died.

My other option was to turn around and get Farore and Zelda, who could both use light magic. Of course, that would take a long time now that we were on foot. Not to mention how unbelievably angry they would both be with us when we arrived. Furthermore, our arrival would give them a false hope. They would think, if however briefly, that we had killed the demon, which would not be the case.

I decided that I had to trust the Triforce. It was an instrument of the gods of old, who weren't stupid. Had I needed the Triforce to survive in the bandit incident, it would have most certainly come to life. Or maybe it had a broader plan in mind.

_Like freeing those people. _It made sense to a degree. Had the Triforce saved me, all of those people would have died or been sold into slavery.

Of course, if that were true, it meant that either the Triforce or the gods of old could see into the future, even though Farore had told me that we were never bound by destiny.

_No man or woman is destined to be a hero, nor is anyone ever destined to be a villain. Your personal choices and actions define who you are, not fate. _She had said to me.

So then why had the Triforce failed me? If I wasn't bound by fate to free those people, then the Triforce shouldn't have been able to see me doing it and purposely failed me.

_It didn't purposely fail you. It just didn't work. _I thought with a slight pang of fear. If the Triforce did the same thing while we were battling this Vallasva, we probably wouldn't survive.

Another possibility was that after preserving my life from the arrow in my chest and healing the hole, the Triforce hadn't had enough energy to create the necessary explosion. Although I doubted that this was the case, it was a possibility nonetheless.

For days, I walked and pondered. Jack and I didn't speak much, unless one of us spotted a source of water or a game animal. Otherwise, we left each other to our own thoughts. We both needed to spend some time with ourselves to prepare for the coming battle.

Finally, after what seemed like endless travel, I looked into the distance as I topped a large hill. What I saw nearly took my breath away.

Starting just a few feet in front of me and stretching out as far as the eye could see, the ground had turned solid black. A small pond in the distance had been converted into a disgusting poison pit with a dark purple color. Even the sky was black, as if nighttime had permanently set in.

I heard Jack stop next to me and breathe a curse. "Is this what we're up against? Something that can do this?"

I took a few more seconds to observe the vast, blighted land ahead of me before I responded. "Yes. And that's all the more reason to take this demon down as soon as possible."

Looking down, I was shocked when I saw that the blight was spreading at an alarming rate. As I watched, it pushed its way underneath my feet and continued on behind me.

"They weren't kidding when they told us how fast that blight was moving." Jack said quietly as the black shroud edged underneath him as well.

"Let's get moving." I grunted.

Jack nodded and we set off west again, into the heart of all darkness.

**END**

**I've changed my mind. I said originally that the sequel to this would be based on the Twilight Princess, but not I've decided that it will be based on Skyward Sword.**

**The next chapter begins our epic conclusion battle, so keep your eyes peeled. I also think that this will push this story over 100,000 words, so let's party! **

**This story has a lot of life left, though. The epic conclusion battle won't necessarily be the conclusion of the story. It will just be the beginning of the end.**


	16. Chapter 16

**For those of you younger readers planning on going to college (I hope all of you are), don't ever trust the campus doctors. That's my life lesson for the day. **

**I changed the title of the story because the old one was meant for my original outline, which I haven't looked at since I started writing this story. The plot of the story changed completely, so I feel that the title change was justified.**

**The first half of this chapter was extremely difficult to write for whatever reason, so I'm sorry if anyone thinks it's subpar. I had one of my rare cases of writer's block. **

**Thank you to those of you who have been reviewing. Your reviews make me happy, and I never get tired of one person sending them over and over, so don't be worried about flooding my email or anything with review notifications. **

**Seriously, REVIEW!**

**START**

Chapter 16

The travel across the blighted lands took much longer than expected. Because the sky was completely black all around us, we could only see by the light of my makeshift torch. I had no idea what direction we were moving, so I constantly had to check the direction with a needle in water.

Water was becoming another issue, though. My canteen was half-full, and Jack's wasn't faring much better. My estimate was that we had travelled forty miles, but there was still no sign of nearing the castle. At the rate the blight had been spreading, and based off of the previous estimates, we were probably only halfway there. That was worrisome, seeing as how we would have to fight through whatever was at the castle while we were dehydrated.

There was also the issue of truly not having any idea how this demon was supposed to be killed, but I had given up thinking about that. Just like when I had fought Ganondorf, I would have to figure out how to kill the demon while I fought.

I was scared, to say the least. Despite having the Triforce, I could still feel fear. I could still feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. This could very well be humanity's final stand.

_Why the hell do I always end up fighting when it's humanity's last stand? _I thought to myself, slightly annoyed.

Ahead, a bolt of red lightning lit up the sky unexpectedly.

"I think it sees us." Jack muttered.

"Damn right it does. I hope it enjoys seeing its own death coming." I replied, watching as three more bolts crashed into the ground.

"I doubt it." Said a voice behind us.

I nearly jumped out of my skin, but had my sword out in a split second. I whipped around, ready to take a swing at whatever had spoken.

There was nothing there.

"What the hell was that?" Jack asked, lowering his sword.

I tried to calm my rapidly beating heart, but couldn't help shivering a little. This was probably creepier than the shadow temple. At least there I had expected something around each corner.

I kept my sword raised, looking around myself and backing up to where Jack stood. We stood there for a few minutes, ready to kill anything that showed up. Finally, after what felt like hours, I allowed myself to move.

"We didn't both imagine that at the same time, so keep your guard up." I said. "And keep your sword drawn."

I began moving west again as I took one long look around. My heart jumped into my throat as I glanced back for a final time, though.

Standing behind me was a man in a simple black cloak. He wore the hood up, concealing his face.

Jack heard my sharp intake and turned around quickly. For a few seconds, we just stared at the cloaked man, unsure of what to do. Finally, I decided to speak.

"What do you want?" I asked, starting simple.

"I want many things, Link." The cloaked man said.

"All right, well I've established already that you're a creepy piece of shit. How do you know my name?"

"I know many things, as well." He said.

_Great, we've got a joker here. _I thought mordantly.

"Well, let's stick to more concrete questions, then." I said. "Are you here to try to kill us?"

"No." The man said simply.

"Well then why are you out here in the middle of nowhere, following us, and freaking us out?" I asked.

"I have some things to tell you that you'll find very valuable in the coming battle." He said. "And I also have something to give you."

I stared at him for a little while, not knowing whether or not to trust him. Jack didn't speak, preferring to let me figure out what was going on. Eventually, I found my tongue.

"Well, if you're a friend, why all the cloak-and-dagger?" I asked.

"You're headed forward to kill this demon, which neither of you are capable of as it stands." He said, ignoring my question. "Even together, your power is not enough to defeat him."

"Well, if you're here to tell me that I should turn back, you can save your breath." I said.

"No, I'm not. I know you, Link. You wouldn't turn your back on Hyrule. I'm here because the two of you are headed into certain death unless I tell you what I have to say." The cloaked man responded.

"Well, then say your piece." I said.

He paused for a few seconds, but finally started speaking. "This demon's name is Demise. He is the former king of the demons, before a young man from the sky killed him. Since then, Cerillean has taken his place as the king. Demise never truly died, though. He stored his power within Hyrule, where it transferred to Ganondorf thousands of years later. Ganondorf has since been killed, and that power was unleashed into the world again."

"So the power went back to Demise as he lay dormant?" I asked.

"Yes, exactly." The man said. "And when Duncan called for a pact with a demon, Demise took it. Of course, had Duncan actually found the Triforce, Demise would have taken it so that he could taint it with his dark magic. Hyrule, as well as the rest of the world, would have fallen."

I nodded in understanding, so he continued. "My point is that this demon is extremely powerful. He will kill both of you in your current states. I can help with that, but you won't like my solution. It will be difficult."

"What is it?" Jack asked, finally finding his voice.

"Only one of you can go into that castle. Demise has been waiting for this fight, and will only allow one person in. That one person would be you, Link." He said.

"There's no way I'm leaving Link to fight a demon alone." Jack said forcefully. "That's insane. If the two of us together couldn't defeat Demise, how could Link possibly do it alone?"

"Link _must _do it alone. He is the only person who Demise will allow to enter. And he will be able to kill Demise with the Master Sword." The cloaked man said.

I had been about to speak, but I froze. Jack didn't have any words, either. That had been unexpected. The Master Sword had chosen Jack as its master, not me. I had accepted that, and wasn't bothered by it. But now this man expected that I could just pick it up again and wield its power like I did before.

"I know that you both have doubts about that. The Master Sword chose Jack as its master, true, but I believe that there is a way around that. I know of a possible way to reset its master back to Link." The man said. "I just need you to trust me."

"How do we know we can trust-" I started, but was interrupted.

"No, here. If Link has to do this alone, do what you need to do to make sure he succeeds." Jack said, sticking the Master Sword in the ground and stepping away from it.

The cloaked man looked over to Jack briefly and nodded his thanks. I was nervous about the Master Sword being left in this strange man's hands, but decided to let the matter go. Even if he took it, I would still be going into the castle alone. I would still have my own sword.

The man grabbed the handle of the sword and pulled it from the ground. He held it up in front of himself and shivered slightly.

"Fi, it's me." He said quietly.

Nothing happened visibly, but the cloaked man looked as if he were listening intently to something. He nodded a few times, and one time his hood slipped back enough for me to see him smiling. It almost looked like he was talking to an old friend.

_Who is Fi? _I thought. I knew that Jack had discovered the Master Sword to be sentient, but I had never known that the sentience had a name.

Jack didn't look quite as confused, so I figured that I would ask him about everything later.

After a couple minutes, the cloaked man hefted the sword and looked closely at it. "I see now what you meant, Fi. He's me in another life, isn't he?"

Again, there was no response. I was beginning to think that the man must be crazy, but he finally dropped the tip of the sword to the dirt and looked over at me.

"Link, the spirit in the Master Sword has agreed to accept you as its master again. It will rest there until it is needed again." He said as he walked towards me. I reached out and grabbed the hilt of the blade as he offered it, feeling its comfortable weight once again.

This blade and I had been through a lot together, and I was glad to have it back. Jack looked slightly forlorn, but it was understandable. It was easy to develop an attachment to the Master Sword. He probably felt just the same as I had when I had put the sword back into the stone the first time.

In return, I pulled the straps holding my titanium blade onto my back and dropped it to the ground. After I picked it up, I threw it to Jack. He now had an equally fine weapon that he could keep forever, rather than having to part with in times of peace.

"Link, I also have something else to give you." The cloaked man said as Jack strapped his new sword onto his back.

He reached under his large cloak and pulled out a shield. It was the same size as the mirror shield that I carried, but was blue with silver inlays. In the center was a painting of a red bird with the Triforce above it. I stared at it for a few seconds before finally recognizing the design.

"This is the Hylian Shield design from hundreds of years ago." I said incredulously. "And that steel is the same kind that was used then. It's indestructible. How did you get your hands on that?"

"Thousands of years ago, actually." The man said. "Take it. You're going to need it. This was the shield that the Hero of the Sky used when he killed Demise. It was created by the thunder dragon Lanayru."

I took the shield, admiring its beauty. It was said that the ancient Hylian shield was made from the strongest steel ever created by man. I was still confused as to who this man was, though.

"Who are you?" I asked incredulously as I strapped the shield to my back. Jack took the mirror shield and strapped it to his own back for extra protection.

The cloaked man stared at me. "Surely you have a guess. How would I possibly know all of this? How could I have talked to the Master Sword? How could I have possibly owned a the same Hylian shield that the Hero of the Sky owned when he killed Demise?"

I was dumbstruck.

_If what he's saying is true, that would mean…_

"You're the Hero of the Sky?" I asked tentatively.

The cloaked man nodded and pulled back his hood. Underneath was an almost carbon copy of my own features. The hair color, the blue eyes, and even the facial features were the exact same. When he dropped the cloak completely, I saw that he wore the same green tunic that I had once worn. In fact, the only minor difference that I could see was that his sword was set up for a right handed draw as opposed to my left-handedness.

"You're my…" I trailed off, not able to find the right words.

"Well, if we're going strictly by bloodline, there would be over a hundred greats in front of the grandfather. However, in the figurative world, I'm you. You are me. We're one and the same, just from different time periods. Like identical twins born three thousand years apart. Except that you and I are closer than identical twins." The Hero of the Sky said.

"You were truly the one who killed Demise? You're the one who gathered all of the pieces of the Triforce and recreated Hyrule again with the help of Hylia?" I couldn't believe any of this.

"Well, yes, you could say so. I thought I had killed Demise, although it appears that I didn't. But yes, I gathered all three pieces of the Triforce and brought Skyloft back to Hyrule. I introduced humans to Hyrule and the rest of the world. All humans today are descendants of the people of the sky that I brought down after killing Demise." The Hero replied.

Jack began taking a knee, but the Hero stopped him. "I'll have none of that. Remember, Link and I are the same. He'd kick your ass the second you took a knee for him, and I'll do the same."

I laughed a little. His language was just as salty as mine.

"I know you two probably have a lot of questions, but you need to press onwards now. I've filled your canteens with sacred water. It will quench your thirst much more efficiently, so only drink half of what you were taking in before. You two should split up as soon as you can. Jack, catch up to those refugees that went south. They're going to need your help. Link, continue west, and send that demon straight back to the pits of hell." The Hero said quickly, as if suddenly in a hurry.

"Wait, Link." I said hurriedly. I had something that I had always been curious about.

"There's no time. Go. This will not be the last time you see me. Whatever questions you have, ask them then. I have to go." He said, stopping me.

He smiled and took a step back. "Good luck, both of you."

As quickly as he had appeared, he was gone again. Even the cloak he had laid on the ground went with him.

Jack and I stood there for a few minutes, completely awestruck.

Jack found his voice first. "Well, are we going to take his advice and split here?"

I nodded. "He wouldn't have said that without good reason."

Jack still looked hesitant, but walked over to me and held out his hand. "Here's to one hell of a trip, then, Link. Good luck. Come home safe."

I took his hand and shook it firmly. "Be safe, Jack."

We parted without any tears or excessive farewells. It was a parting born of necessity. Neither one of us liked the situation, but we both knew that the Hero of the Sky would be right. Demise would be looking for a challenge in me, and me only. He probably saw it as some sort of rematch between himself and the ancient hero.

After a quick drink of water and a few minutes of pondering, I continued west.

**BREAK**

_The demon laughed loudly as it held Link's neck in its enormous hand. In its other hand, a massive, six-pronged blade was at the ready. It looked as if it could cleave Link in two where he kneeled on the ground._

"_You could save him." The demon said. "You know what you have to do."_

"_Don't you dare." Link growled. "I'll die before I see that."_

_Farore was frozen in place. She desperately tried to call her magic, but it wouldn't work. She tried to reach for her knife, but found it to be missing. Not that it would have done anything to this hideous creature._

_The Master Sword lay in front of Link. _

If only I could reach that. _Farore thought, and began trying to edge closer._

_But her feet were stuck. She couldn't move._

"_You have one more chance. Bow to me, and I will release him." The demon said. "I will not ask again."_

_Farore could feel the tears running down her face. She was helpless. She couldn't do anything at all. The only way to save Link would be to bow to this madman. She looked at Link, and saw something different in his eyes. _

_He was afraid._

"_Don't do it, Farore." Link pleaded. "It's not worth it. He'll kill me either way."_

"_I'm so sorry, Link." Farore said, hardly able to make it through the words before her throat caught._

"_It's all right, Farore. I-" Link tried to say._

"_SILENCE!" The demon roared, squeezing its hand around Link's neck. "I gave you your chance, goddess."_

_Time slowed down as the demon's enormous sword began its arc. Farore tried to scream, but couldn't seem to find her voice. Instead, she had to watch as the sword swung down, slicing through the air in between itself and Link's head._

_Link closed his eyes. Whether it was in fear, acceptance, or both, Farore didn't know. A moment later, she had to watch as the sword cleaved through his neck, severing his head in a single swing. Blood sprayed everywhere, but all Farore could see was Link's head as it rolled across the ground towards her._

_It stopped at her feet, with Link's face up. His eyes were open again, and he had an accusing glare on his face._

"_Why didn't you bow to him, Farore? You could have saved me." Link's head said. "I thought you loved me."_

_Farore couldn't respond. She was still unable to move._

"_We had a future together, Farore. You should have come after me. You could have saved me, and we could have come back and had that family we wanted. We could have lived happily, but instead you stayed behind." Link said. "And, when you finally had the chance to save me, you didn't take it."_

"_No, please Link…I…" Farore tried to speak._

"_No, I don't want to hear it. It's too late." Link said. "I have to go now."_

"_No, Link! Don't leave, Link!" _

"_It's too late." Link said, and disappeared entirely, leaving just her and the demon, who laughed manically._

"_NO!" Farore screamed as the demon walked towards her slowly._

She bolted upright in bed, covered in sweat. She was shaking uncontrollably as she threw the sheets off of herself and sat on the edge of the mattress.

"It was just a dream." Farore muttered to herself, trying to calm down. Tears were still running down her cheeks, as they had been when she woke up.

These nightmares had become more and more commonplace ever since Link had left. She didn't show it during the daytime as she went about her normal activities with a smile, but nighttime was a different story altogether. The nightmares would terrify her each time she had them, whether or not she could tell that the dream wasn't real.

Each nightmare was generally the same. Link would be rendered helpless and then killed, while Farore had to stand back and watch. They were awful, and were increasing in frequency. She was afraid to sleep at this point, as she would almost certainly have a nightmare.

Zelda wasn't faring much better. She had complained multiple times to Farore about having nightmares in which Jack and Link were slaughtered by an all-powerful demon.

It was unfortunate that sleep was necessary, otherwise they probably wouldn't have.

Farore glanced at the clock. Seeing that it was close to dawn, she got up to go wash her face and start making breakfast for the refugees in her home. One of the women had moved into an actual house with her husband. Her four children had gone with her, and the house had grown that much quieter. Farore still enjoyed the company of the other two families, and hoped that they would at least stay until Link returned.

_If he returns. _The voice in Farore's head nagged.

She forced the voice back and shuffled out of the house and into the garden, hoping to distract herself there. The plants she had been cultivating were flourishing under her watchful eye. Since Link had been gone, she had spent most of her time out in that very garden, burying her anxiety and anger in fertilizer and water. Gloria, one of the mothers staying in her home, had expressed some concern about it, but Farore had waved it aside. The garden helped her to clear her mind.

Soon, she knew that she was going to break. She had been putting up a front for so long that it was wearing her down. The pain caused by Link leaving had been difficult to handle, and wasn't getting any easier. She felt like she was going to have a meltdown any day now. Zelda's friendship helped, but wasn't doing much anymore, by no fault of Zelda's.

Farore's inner strength was quickly failing. Her original trust that Link would be coming back had faltered a long time ago, and her ever-present worries had taken over. Link occupied every waking second of her day, and most of her nights.

It had only been three weeks. He probably wasn't even at the castle yet.

Footsteps caught Farore's attention. It sounded like a guard, which was uncommon at this time of the morning. She was out early enough each morning to know that the guard who passed her house only passed once every half-hour at this time. That regular guard had passed as she walked out the door a few minutes beforehand.

The footsteps continued down the street and stopped in front of Farore's house, so she stood up to find out what was going on. She could hear the guard shuffling his feet slightly.

As Farore walked around the front corner of the house, she could see that it was, in fact, a guard. He was standing on her doorstep, about to knock on the door. He was shaking slightly.

"What is it?" Farore called out to him, trying to control her tone. The last thing she needed to do was melt down in front of this man before he gave her whatever news he had.

The man nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of her voice. "Oh! Ms. Glenn, I'm sorry to bother you this early in the morning, but I had something to report to you, ma'am."

"Well, what's going on?" Farore asked quietly, her voice trembling.

"It…well…we found Captain Link's horse ma'am. She was roaming around in front of Castle Town. She still had her saddle on, but it appears that the Captain removed all of his weapons and necessities, like his water canteen and food stores. I felt that you should know, since…you know…" The guard stuttered out nervously. Their courtship hadn't been made public, but the guard had done well to assume that she would want to know about this turn of events.

"Thank you." Farore said simply. Her mind had immediately erupted with the many different possibilities.

The guard quickly departed, leaving Farore to her own thoughts. They quickly turned sour.

_That horse wouldn't leave Link unless he was dead. _She thought to herself. It was a frightening thought, and it stayed in her mind for a little while longer than it should have. Finally, she was able to push it aside and continue watering her plants. The empty place in her mind was quickly filled with more thoughts, though. They were a constant onslaught.

An hour passed while Farore's mind continued to find every possible reason why Epona had returned without Link. Most of those possibilities ended up with Link dead, so she tried not to linger on them for too long.

Eventually, she was forced to stop watering her garden for her own sanity. By now, the sun had risen well above the horizon, and the city was waking up.

Farore looked up to Hyrule Castle where it gleamed in the morning light. Even in her pitiful mood, it was a sight to behold. In another few weeks, it would be complete. Even now, the outside walls had been finished, so it looked complete. It was even more beautiful than its predecessor.

A single tear rolled down Farore's check as she stared at the castle. The tear was for Link, wherever he may have been in that dark hour. Her thoughts were always with him, and she hoped against hope that she would be seeing him soon.

**BREAK**

Days after meeting the Hero of the Sky, I stood at the base of a large hill, looking at the abominable castle.

What had already been a menacing building was now a fortress of doom. It seemed that every villain wanted his castle to be floating above a massive pool of lava, because that was the case here. The castle itself had changed quite a bit. The towers and spires had been formed into one giant tower that had a flat, open top. I couldn't see on top of it because of how tall it was, though. The outside walls had simply been blown over, no longer necessary because of the lava pool. The main body of the castle had stayed the same, except that all the stones had been charred black and melded together. There was only one door in the front, which was, once again, blocked off by two thousand degree lava.

I sighed as I stared at the floating behemoth. This wasn't the first time that I had been in this position. I wished evil creatures could just live in something reasonable and not set up traps to try to stop me. It never worked, and they would save me a lot of time and effort by showing up to fight me in the first place. That had been what annoyed me the most about Ganondorf. He had watched me go through all of the temples, knowing that I would make it through any trap or puzzle, and he still set up a giant puzzle inside his castle, as if that would stop me.

The castle itself was only a mile away, so I began jogging towards it. I hoped that I could figure out a way to get inside it when I got there.

A few minutes passed as I covered the ground in between myself and the demon's lair, and I spent that time studying the outside of the fortress further. There was nothing spectacular about it. Obviously, the demon hadn't been worried about an enemy force attacking. There weren't any ballistae, guards, or archers.

It was a fortress built to house a demon. Nothing more.

As I arrived at the drop-off into the lava pool, I looked up again at the castle, still seeing no way in. There was nothing but blighted wasteland around me, so I didn't bother looking there for help. Instead, I looked up to the large tower in the center and called out.

"Demise!" I yelled. "I hear that you're waiting for me. I suggest that you let me in and fight me if that's the case."

Almost as if on queue, I heard a hissing noise from below. Before my eyes, a portion of the magma darkened quickly, solidifying the molten rock. A steady stream of lava pushed the newly formed rock pathway upwards, stopping it once it had reached my height. There it stood, permitting my entry into the floating fortress.

_Well that's convenient. _I thought to myself sarcastically. I was hesitant to step onto the rock, but saw no other way of entering the castle.

The pathway seemed solid enough, but I hurried across it just in case. As I scampered to the other end, I thought about how ironic it was that Demise could probably kill me right here without a fight. All he had to do was drop the rock pathway into the lava below. I would be dead, and nothing would be able to stop him.

_The mind of evil doesn't work that way. He probably wants to kill me himself to prove his dominance over the human race once and for all. If he has to cheat, then he hasn't proven that to himself, which is probably much more important to him than proving it to others. _I thought as I covered the final few yards.

The door to the castle opened with a slight push, and I walked inside. Behind the door, I recognized the main room from when Duncan had owned the place. Not much had changed. A quick glance around the room assured me that it was empty. Demise seemed to be much more to-the-point. He didn't seem to be using monsters to try to kill or weaken me before I reached him.

To my left, the spiral staircase was completely demolished. To my right, the stairs were perfect. That left only one way up, and one way down, should I run into trouble.

The staircase rose much higher than I had expected it to. When I pushed through the door to what had been the fourth floor, I found that it was now the roof of the lower portion of the castle. From here I could see for miles around, but I had eyes only for the massive tower in front of me. It seemed much taller than when I had looked on it from a distance, but I refused to be intimidated by it. I wasn't fighting the tower, therefore it shouldn't scare me.

A large door was set at the base of the tower, leaving no doubt as to which way I should take to get up to the top. When pushed, it opened just as easily as the main door. There was no messing around with dungeon keys here.

The inside of the tower was a room with a large spiral staircase snaking along the walls. The room itself was just as empty as the rest of the castle, so I began climbing the stairs. Each half-circle around the wall brought me to a new, equally barren room, where I continued upward further and further. The climb seemed to take forever, but I managed to control my nerves the entire time. Whatever it was that waited for me at the top of the tower didn't deserve a nervous breakdown from me.

Finally, after a good ten minutes of climbing, I reached the final room. This one was small, and had a single door placed to my right. I walked the few feet towards it, took a deep breath, and opened it.

The other side of the door was the top level of the tower. It was a large, symmetrical circle about eighty feet in diameter. Darkness seemed to flow down towards the ground from the outside edges of it. I glanced around again, but found the area to be empty, just like the rest of the castle.

"What is this?" I asked out loud. "Show yourself, demon. I know you're here somewhere. It will be easier for both of us if you simply stop hiding."

Nothing happened. Silence pervaded everything.

I wandered around the top of the tower, looking for any irregularities or clues as to where the demon was, before finally giving up my search and turning around.

_He must be somewhere in the castle. I suppose it was a little cliché for me to head to the top of the tallest tower and expect him to be there. _I thought.

As I glanced back over towards the door, however, I was greeted with a new sight.

There was no door.

I stared for a few more seconds, and glanced all around in disbelief, but confirmed to myself that the door had simply disappeared, as well as the stone structure that it had been placed in. Even the stairs that had been inside weren't there anymore.

"You could just come out and get this over with." I said out loud.

"Very well." A deep, guttural voice said. In the center of the circle, a man at least twice my height and four times my size materialized out of thin air. In his right hand, he held a massive, six-pronged blade. In his left, he had no shield. His hair was pure fire, and there was a white X on his forehead. His entire body, save for his chest, was covered in odd black scales that seemed to function as armor.

"I've waited a long time for you, _hero._" Demise sneered. "It's not polite to have kept me waiting for all these long months."

"Well I'm afraid that I had better things to do than worry about you." I replied sarcastically.

"Hmm, well you're much more talkative than your counterpart. He didn't say a word to me. Maybe it's because he didn't need words to compensate for lack of skill with a blade." The demon replied.

"I'm not interested in what you have to say, demon. I'm here to kill you and rid my world of your evil. I don't want your promises of power or anything like that." I said, cutting to the chase. I wanted this to be over with, for better or for worse.

"You may talk a little bit more, but you're not one for conversation, either, are you? Like father, like son, I guess." Demise mused before going on. "Very well. If you seek your death, so be it. I've waited for ages to rid this world of your bloodline. When you lie dead, I will destroy Queen Zelda, ending the line of descendants from Hylia and that boy from the sky. "

_So the Hero of the Sky fell in love with Hylia, and I'm descended from that union?_ I thought to myself. It struck me as odd that I should be dwelling on that detail given the circumstances, so I put the thought aside.

"Has your nerve failed you yet, Hero of Time?" Demise sneered. "If you had any sense, it would have a long time ago. Do you still wish to raise your blade against the world I would create?"

I scowled at the hideous creature, giving him no response.

"Not so unlike your forefather, after all. Very well." The demon said. He hefted his sword and drove it into the ground.

The dark mist that had been emanating from the tower began swirling upwards, sealing in the area Demise and I were standing in. After a few seconds, the top of the tower was completely engulfed. The only light I had to see by was Demise's fiery hair, which had grown so bright that it cast a reflection off of the mist around me.

"This is the world your people will die in, once I'm done with you." Demise said, pulling his sword from the ground. "And knowing your kind, you will be the only human with the guts to face me. That being said, please keep this interesting, as it's likely the only fight your people will put up."

I lifted my sword, ready for anything, but Demise simply walked forward. He showed no surprise when I held my ground, but still kept moving.

When he reached me, Demise wasted no time swinging a massive overhand blow at me. I dodged it easily, reaching out to strike him with the Master Sword, but was nearly knocked off of my feet by the force of his blade hitting the ground. The impact shook the ground beneath my feet, and I quickly jumped away as the demon threw a backhanded swing at me.

I had been hoping that my handedness would throw Demise off, but it seemed that that was not the case. He came at me again, swinging his sword in a wide arc this time. I raised my shield and threw it into his blade at an angle, trying to throw the creature off balance.

The move worked, as Demise stumbled forward and to my right. I bashed his chest with the tip of my shield and swung my sword around in a wide arc that crushed into his back. The demon grunted and fell forward, but rolled away as I brought the sword down on his back again.

He was quick; I had to give him credit. For a creature of his size, he should have moved much slower than he was. He rolled to his feet and hefted his sword, scowling in annoyance.

"Do not think that your small victory has even come close to defeating me, human. It will take much more than that." Demise growled at me before charging me with his enormous blade.

I was taken aback again by his speed. As I attempted to roll out of the way of his blade, he brought it down on top of me. I managed to catch the brunt of the blow on my shield, but heard my right arm snap like a twig under the enormous man's strength. I rolled away from the demon, but he charged again.

This time, I held my ground, sidestepping at the last second. Demise's sword snapped through the air next to me in an upward arc, but missed. I reached out and slashed the Master Sword through the demon's exposed chest, and then quickly danced away as he roared in anger. His left fist flew through the air where I had been. It seemed to infuriate him even more when I wasn't there.

I felt my right arm twist and contort as the Triforce pulled it back together, just in time for me to deflect another of Demise's blows. The deflection threw his balance off once again, and I managed to land four blows on the demon's chest, legs, and back before he could swing at me again.

To Demise, I must have been like a mosquito that just couldn't be caught. No matter how much he charged me, swung at me, or punched out at me, he couldn't land a solid blow. His fighting style was really very predictable, and left a lot of room for me to dance around behind him and land blows.

This process continued for a while, with Demise trying any number of new tactics to try to kill me. Eventually, he took a step back.

"You're good, fairy boy." He said. "But this battle has only just begun."

"Actually, it began about fifteen minutes ago." I said, being a smartass.

The mist around me began swirling quickly, and descended on the tower. I blinked my eyes a few times, and began to panic as I realized that I couldn't see more than a foot in front of my face. I backed away from where Demise had been, unsure of what to do.

_Oh, damn. I've never fought an enemy I couldn't see…wait… Yes I have! _I thought in a moment of triumph. I dug into one of the leather pouches on my belt and pulled out the lens of truth.

I pulled the lens up to my eye and activated it, hoping against hope that it would allow me to see through the mist. As it illuminated the area around me in purple light, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Demise standing no more than five feet away from me.

"Oh shit!" I yelled as I rolled to the right. His sword smashed into the ground where I had been standing. He roared in frustration, and swung at me again. I dodged again, and found myself backed up to the outer wall of the tower.

A silent curse went through my head. Demise caught up to me quickly, and I rolled away from him again, but a little too late. His enormous blade caught the underside of my left gauntlet and smashed my hand down into the ground. Though the gauntlet itself held fast, the crushing force to my hand caused me to instinctively open it.

Demise kicked the Master Sword away from me before I had a chance to reach out and grab it from where it fell out of my hand. I rolled away, unsure of what to do. I couldn't use the megaton hammer, as I had to hold the lens of truth to my eye to see anything. I decided that I needed to do something unexpected quickly. Demise was moving faster and faster with each attack.

I glanced back to the Master Sword where it lay on the ground, but it was firmly out of reach. Demise chuckled. "What will you do now, hero? You could hardly hold your own when you had a weapon and could see. Now, you have neither of those lux-"

The demon was interrupted as my longshot smashed into his chest, sinking into the skin and holding there. The impact pushed him slightly off balance, and I pulled the small trigger on the handle. The chain retracted, pulling me towards the massive demon. Using the momentum of the pull, I swung my fist in a wide arc as I reached the demon, connecting with his face with a loud crack.

Demise staggered back, roaring in anger, but I held onto the longshot and punched him in the face twice more. Each punch was rewarded with a solid cracking noise, and Demise fell backwards onto the ground.

Now that I was on top of the demon king, I pulled the megaton hammer out and brought it down on his face. The result was another cracking noise and an angry yell. He jerked upwards, sending me flying off of his chest.

I landed a few feet away with a meaty thud, and began crawling back to my feet. Another look through the lens of truth showed me that the Master Sword lay only about twenty feet to my left, so I sprinted off in that direction, hoping to have my blade again before the demon king recovered.

My hopes were shattered as Demise reached from behind and grabbed out at my feet. His hand missed, but he managed to trip me with his enormous wrist. I landed hard and groaned, but quickly rolled over, bringing the lens of truth to my eye again.

My heart leapt into my throat as I saw Demise already standing above me. He had lifted his sword up, and was in the process of bringing it down on my chest. I had no choice but to block the attack with my shield. As Demise rammed his sword down, I grunted in pain. It felt as if my entire body was being squished out from underneath the shield, but I held fast. I wouldn't let Demise win this fight through brute strength.

The demon king pulled his sword away and swung it down viciously, trying to sever my head. I ducked out of the way, and his sword embedded itself in the ground next to me. I rolled downwards, out of reach of his kicks, and put some distance between the behemoth and myself, debating what I could do next.

Again, I was stuck on the opposite side of Demise from the Master Sword. I had let go of the megaton hammer when I had been forced to move quickly, and I doubted that Demise would fall for the hookshot trick again.

_Come on, Link. Think of something even more unexpected than- _My thoughts were interrupted as Demise whipped around and threw his blade at me. I ducked to the left, and felt a small tug at my right hand. After I had rolled a good distance through the dark mist, I once again brought the lens of truth up to my eye to find out where Demise had gone.

But the lens of truth was nowhere to be found.

The only part of it that I was holding was the handle. An inch above the top of my fist, it had been severed by Demise's flying sword. A string of curses went through my mind, and panic began to settle in. I ducked and rolled around, trying to find something, anything, to help me.

_There's nothing here except your weapons, and those won't help if you can't see. _The voice in my head told me, but I kept searching.

"Panicked now, hero? Now that you don't have your toys, you're nothing against me." Demise's voice seemed to come from all around. "I think I'm going to have some fun with you before I kill you."

From out of nowhere, Demise's fist rammed into my side, throwing me across the ground. I groaned in pain after I landed, forcing myself to breathe. As I crawled to my feet, a hand wrapped around my neck and lifted me up. I couldn't see him, but it was obvious that Demise was right in front of me.

"You are pathetic. Just like the rest of your people." Demise laughed maniacally. "You will be the first to die in my genocide of the human race. I hope you know that I take great pleasure in doing this."

I kicked out in front of myself, connecting with the demon's face out of pure luck, and he dropped me to the ground. I landed hard, but managed to roll away quickly. I saw the dim outline of a massive foot stomp down on where my head had been.

I jumped away from where I knew Demise to be and began a silent prayer to the goddesses.

_Help me, all of you. Please. _I said, hoping that Din and Nayru, possibly even Hylia, could hear me.

Nothing happened, and I found myself with my back to the outside wall again. Almost as if he had been waiting for me, Demise's hair and eyes ignited in flames. They were the only things that I could see in the dark mist. I jumped up at the demon king, hoping to get another few punches in, but he caught me by the legs, ripping me out of the air like a helpless rag doll.

"You have had enough time to play around." He said, holding his massive sword up to my throat. "It's time for you to die."

As I stared at the edge of the massive blade and back at the fiery red eyes, I panicked.

_You're going to die. _I thought. _This is it. After all the things you've been through, you're going to die. _

My mind seemed to wander off on its own. Everything began moving in slow motion, and I began seeing images from my life.

First, I saw Saria in the forest, laughing with me in her home. Then there was the Great Deku Tree. I saw all of the Kokiri, laughing and playing in the forest.

My mind switched gears and went to Darunia, and I saw him dancing along to Saria's Song.

I saw Ruto as I carried her through Jabu-Jabu. In some strange way, she had been my first love. I saw her giving me the spiritual stone of water, making me promise that I would come back for her.

I saw Impa and Zelda fleeing the castle. Zelda throwing me the Ocarina of Time, and Ganondorf confronting me. I saw myself pulling the Master Sword from its resting place.

I remembered waking up at the age of seventeen, feeling extremely confused. I remembered rescuing Saria from who I had thought to be Ganondorf, but ended up being only a phantom.

I saw the fire temple, where I had killed Volvagia and brought Darunia back as a sage. I saw the megaton hammer that I had wielded for the job.

I saw Ruto again, except marveled at her beauty this time. She had grown to be quite a catch in the years since I had seen her. I remembered awakening her as a sage, and being very disappointed that I wouldn't be seeing her very often.

I saw Kakariko in flames, Sheik standing by the well. I saw the shadow temple in all of its terrifying power. I vividly remembered fighting Bongo-Bongo, and how close I had come to dying. I saw Impa after I had awakened her, joining the almost complete group of sages.

I saw the spirit temple, where I had met Nabooru again after defeating the iron knuckle. I saw Twinrova, and fondly remembered their argument that they had had at the time of their deaths.

I remembered finding that Sheik was Zelda in disguise, and driving my sword through Ganon's face to make sure that she would be safe. I remembered going back through time and making sure that the door to the Sacred Realm never opened, so that the future I had fought so hard to protect would never happen.

My mind skipped forward twelve years. I saw all the events of the past few months flash before my eyes, but nothing stuck out more than my time with Farore.

What was it that she had said to me the first time we met?

_May you always find a light in the darkness, hope in the most hopeless of situations, and help when you feel helpless. _And then she had given the other two pieces of the Triforce to me.

_A lot of good those did me. _I thought, but my mind wandered back to my memories of Farore's words.

_A light in the darkness…_

My mind clicked, and I pulled the power of the Triforce from within myself almost effortlessly. A golden light exploded everywhere around me. Demise's sword, which had been nearly finished with its wide arc that would have taken my head off, disintegrated in front of my eyes.

Demise screamed in pain and dropped me. I flipped around in an almost cat-like fashion and landed on my feet, the Triforce glowing bright on my left hand. Wherever I looked, the dark mist was receding as the Triforce's light drove it away.

The demon king cried out in pain again, covering his eyes. Without thinking about it, I called the Master Sword into my hand, and it was there. I walked slowly to where Demise kneeled on the ground and put the point of my blade underneath his chin, lifting his head up so that he could see my eyes as I killed him.

Demise's fiery eyes met mine, and in them I saw nothing but fear. Even as powerful as he was, the Triforce was many times stronger.

I spent no time gloating over my victory. As Demise stared up at me in horror, I rammed the Master Sword down, pushing it into the base of his neck and down into his chest.

The demon king's eyes went wide, but he couldn't make any noise. I kept my eyes locked onto his until he fell forwards and hit the ground with a loud thump.

The black mist around me exploded upwards, spiraling into the sky. It formed a beam that seemed to push as high as the eye could see, and then some. I couldn't see the end of the beam, but I knew that it was leaving. Demise's body dissolved into that same mist and departed.

After a few seconds, it was all over. Just like that, the demon king had been defeated. I sheathed the Master Sword slowly, and walked over to where the megaton hammer lay on the ground. After putting that away, I walked over to the nearest wall and sat down.

_This day has been crap. _I thought to myself, and laid my head back, trying to catch my breath. I was feeling the normal effects of having used the Triforce setting in.

I was exhausted. All I wanted to do was sleep.

I gave in to the will to sleep quickly and without much of a fight. I knew that I could sleep safely, though.

Demise was dead. Hyrule was safe. What better reason was there to allow myself some rest?

**END**

**There it is! The 'final boss,' per say. I hope you all liked my fight scene, because I worked really hard on it. I didn't want to make it one of those long, drawn out fights that other people sometimes write, but I wanted it to be more intense than normal.**

**The next couple chapters will be closing the story up, but this will be a series. I'm going to be writing the prequel next, based on Skyward Sword, so keep your eyes peeled for that.**


	17. Chapter 17

**I got great reviews (except for one) after the last chapter! Thank you to all of you who left one, and even the guy who left a not very nice one.**

**Although I'd like to take this time to remind everyone that this website is a compilation of a lot of peoples' hard work, so if you have something bad to say, think really hard about how you say it in a review. We don't always enjoy every story, but there's never a reason to be rude!**

**START**

Chapter 17

"I can't do this anymore." Farore sobbed, curled into a ball in the corner of Zelda's bedroom.

Zelda had run out of words hours ago, instead decided to just let her cry it all out. She was beginning to think that the tears wouldn't stop flowing, though. This was well over a month of pent-up exhaustion, anger, and heartache.

_Yes, heartache. _The queen thought to herself with disdain. Farore wasn't the only one upset. Zelda missed Jack like she had never missed a man before, and had finally given in and admitted that she was more lovesick than actually worried.

Farore, on the other hand, had a solid mixture of worry and lovesickness. That same mix had been gnawing at her this whole time while she pushed it further and further into the back of her mind. She had tried everything to distract herself, but had ultimately failed.

A distraction was as simple as it sounded. Distractions had taken Farore's mind off of the worrisome subject matter temporarily, but not permanently.

As she watched Farore cry, Zelda was moved with pity again.

_Such a strong woman to have held all of that in for so long. _She thought.

A knock sounded at the door, and the queen quickly ran to answer it. Outside was one of the regular door guards, looking slightly concerned.

"Is something wrong?" Zelda asked.

"We don't know, your majesty." He said. "There's some disturbance in the west. You might want to come look for yourself."

"A disturbance in the west?" Zelda heard Farore ask quietly.

"Thank you, I'll be out in a moment." The queen said, shutting the door. She turned to Farore. "Yes, a disturbance in the west. Let's go check it out."

Farore got up quickly and dusted herself off. She glanced in the mirror, but gave up when she saw her eyes. Everyone would know that she had been crying, but she didn't care.

The pair headed out the door, flanked by the guards who had been waiting. Zelda immediately led them to the center of the castle, where the tallest tower stood, and began the long climb. If there were a disturbance in the west, she would be able to see it from there.

As they reached the top of the tower, Zelda called for the guards to wait and walked up the final few stairs. Farore tailed her closely, eager to find out what was going on. She was hoping that it would be some sort of good news.

What they saw looked far from good, though.

Far away in the west, a column of darkness rose as far as the eye could see. It was obviously well over the western horizon, but was pushing itself out of the top of the blue sky. Zelda had never seen anything reach so high in her life.

Farore gasped and covered her mouth.

"Link…" Was the only thing she was able to get out. Tears filled her eyes again, but she collected herself and tried to remain stoic.

"Do you know what that is, Farore?" Zelda asked quietly.

"No, I don't." She replied, staring at the column of darkness. "I hope-"

"Don't think about that." Zelda said quickly, hoping to prevent Farore from focusing on Link again.

Farore nodded, staying strong, and stared off into the distance again. For a few minutes, they watched the column of darkness while it worked its way into the sky. Slowly, it shrank. Within ten minutes, it was only half the size of what it had started out at.

After half an hour, the darkness was gone.

A messenger poked his head through the door behind Zelda and cleared his throat. "Your majesty, Lieutenant Jack Brandon has arrived at the castle with a group of-"

"He _what?_" Zelda nearly shrieked. "He's back?"

The messenger glanced around nervously. "Yes, your majesty."

Zelda looked as if she was about to explode, but stopped herself from sprinting towards the door. She had to ask something else.

"Is there any word of Captain Link?"

"No, your majesty." The man said, shaking his head sadly. "He wasn't with the lieutenant."

Zelda dismissed the messenger and turned back to Farore, who was staring at the closed door in shock.

"Farore, you should come with me. Jack might know where Link is." The queen said. Farore could only mange a small nod before she approached the door.

"Wait. Farore, look at me." Zelda said, containing her own excitement at Jack's arrival. Farore turned slowly. "Whatever has happened, whatever Jack says, stay strong. I'll be here for you, no matter what."

The goddess nodded slowly, obviously fighting a losing battle with her emotions. Her eyes were still bloodshot, and her hair was a mess, but she had given up caring about that. All she wanted was Link home safe. Now that Jack had shown up without him, she had almost completely lost hope.

The pair descended the stairs quickly. For very different reasons, the throne room felt like the longest walk of their lives.

When they arrived at the side door to the big room, Zelda paused with her hand on the knob. "Remember what I said, Farore. Stay strong."

The queen opened the door to find the throne room completely empty, save for Jack, who looked extremely road weary. He still wore all of his armor. His facial hair had grown to a full beard due to a month of neglect, and he had large purple rings under his eyes.

Zelda gasped at the sight of him, but sprinted to him anyways. Immediately, he wrapped her in his arms, holding her close. Despite his body odor and bad breath, Zelda leaned up and kissed him hungrily, glad that he hadn't shown up during a court session. Nothing could have stopped her from jumping into his arms, not even a full court.

Jack returned the affection without hesitation. He picked Zelda off of her feet and spun her around, kissing her the whole time.

"I missed you." He whispered into her ear.

"Me, too." Zelda said with a smile, but paused, glancing at his back. "Oh, goddesses. Is that…"

Jack glanced back, seeing the pommel of Link's blade poking over his shoulder. Only then did he notice Farore about to pass out in the corner of the room. "No, it's not what you think. Link is alive, as far as I know. The Master Sword is his now."

Farore actually did pass out after that, hitting the floor with a light thud. Zelda gasped and ran over to her, but let out a relieved sigh when she saw that she was still breathing normally.

"She broke apart today worrying about him. Your timing couldn't have been better." The queen said, fanning Farore's face. "Why were you two separated?"

Jack was the one sighing now. "I couldn't go with him any further. It would have been useless. It's a long story, but a group of refugees needed my help much more than Link did."

"Well, we've got time. Let's take Farore back to her house, and you can tell me about it while we wait for her to wake up." The queen said.

**BREAK**

I woke with a start, utterly confused. Looking around, I found myself in the middle of a large, open field. There were hills off on the horizon, but they were a good distance away. In the other three directions lay flat grasslands that betrayed no danger to my eyes.

I groaned and sat up, wondering where I could have gotten to.

_Did I get drunk again? _I thought worriedly. _Farore is going to kill me._

I looked around some more, but saw nothing new. I was simply in the middle of an open field, but it looked slightly familiar.

_Wait a second… _My mind began to clear as I stood up. _Something about demons…Demise! Where the hell…I killed him, I remember that. But where am I?_

Still, there was nothing recognizable about the area around me. The Master Sword was still on my back, though, so I relaxed a little bit.

As I glanced around again, a powerful female voice filled my head.

_This is what I could do for you, Link. You're back in Hyrule, where you belong. Go live your life in peace now._

I froze and spun around, but saw nothing. "Who are you?" I asked quietly.

"That would be Hylia." A familiar voice said behind me. I turned around quickly to find the Hero of the Sky standing there with his hands on his hips. He was smiling.

"Oh, hello there. You could have shown up a few minutes ago so that I wouldn't be so confused." I said with a grin. I was glad to see him.

"Well then I wouldn't have had such a great time watching you get all bent out of shape." The Hero said with a little too much excitement.

"Glad to know you care." I replied sarcastically. "So what now? Demise is dead, so what new adventure awaits me?"

"Well, Link, that's what I'm here to talk to you about." The Hero said with another smile. "You're able to carve out your own destiny now. Farore was right when she told you that you're not bound by fate. At least most of the time. Now, your duties to Hyrule have been completed. Go live your life in peace, as Hylia said."

"I thought Hylia was a little bit disengaged from Hyrule. Why is she helping me?" I asked.

"Because she's not as disengaged as you think she is. And she's especially not disengaged from her great-great…well, descendent." The Hero chuckled a little bit to himself before he went on. "Besides, who do you think does all the work while Nayru and Din screw around?"

He paused for a second and scratched his chin, then muttered to himself. "Oh you two are no fun. It was just a joke."

"Can you hear them?" I asked, shocked.

"Oh, yeah." The Hero replied nonchalantly. "Comes with the job."

"And what is that job?"

"Hylia's husband." The Hero laughed this time. "Basically I just go scare people half to death when she's mad at them. And when I get back…mmmmm."

"I don't think I want to know what happens when you get back." I said, suppressing a chuckle.

"Well anyways, basically I'm here to remind you that the Master Sword needs to go back to the Temple of Time. After that, go live like a free man, because that's what you are." The Hero said. "Castle Town is just over those hills to the north. And from what I hear, someone is waiting for you. You would do best to get there quickly."

"Farore." I muttered quietly, suddenly finding myself wanting nothing more than to see her again.

"Exactly. Now go. I'll see you again in…actually I won't except when you die. Happy travels!" The Hero of the Sky said as he patted my back. When I turned around to say my goodbyes, though, he was gone.

I stared at the empty space where the Hero had been, shuddered, and began north at a brisk jog.

**BREAK**

I was back in Castle Town within a few hours, having nearly sprinted the second half of the trip. I was winded, and felt like falling over or retching, but I had more important things to do. Farore was waiting.

People on the streets reacted to my presence, word obviously having gotten out that Jack and I had left. I heard a few mutters of my name, and saw brief hopeful glances sent my way from the Fajfi refugees. A few tried to stop me and ask what had happened, but I brushed past them. I quickly told a few of them that the demon was dead as I passed, hoping that the word would spread without me having to be stopped a thousand times before I made it to the southwest corner of the city.

The trip through the midday crowd seemed to take forever, but I finally found my way to the less populated western district that Farore lived in. The streets were still fairly crowded, but I made good time. After half an hour of pushing through more crowds, Farore's quaint home came into view at the end of the street.

My heart began beating much faster as I sprinted down the street. My feet couldn't move fast enough for my liking as I vaulted the front gate and ran up the front steps. I didn't bother knocking, instead choosing to throw open the door and run in.

"Farore?" I called out, shaking with nervousness. Instead, I was greeted by the sight of one of the terrified mothers sitting in the kitchen.

_Crap, I hope she thought I was cursing or something. That's not going to be good if she just figured out who "Ellen" really is. _I thought to myself.

I turned to the refugee. "Where's Ellen?"

She was so shocked at my appearance that the only thing she could do was point to the hallway. Assuming that that meant Farore was in her bedroom, I sprinted off down the hall, and threw open her door.

Farore was there, slowly getting out of her bed at the sound of the commotion outside. As I came in, she paused, looking up. For a few seconds, she just stared at me in disbelief. Only then did I notice that Zelda was sitting next to the bed, also staring at me in disbelief.

I didn't have any words to say. Instead, my eyes filled with tears and I began crying like a little girl. Farore crossed the room in one leap and landed in my arms, tears filling her already bloodshot eyes. For a very long moment, we cried into each other's shoulders.

Zelda quickly excused herself from the room, although she had a massive smile on her face. Once the door had closed behind her, I kissed Farore hungrily, soaking up every second of it. She wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist.

"I thought you were dead." Farore said as she pulled away slightly. "Jack showed up a week ago, and then there was this giant black pillar in the west-"

I shushed her quietly. "I'm here now. I promised you that I would be back, and here I am."

I sat down on the side of the bed, Farore still attached to me. She curled around me and sat in my lap, looking into my eyes. "Is he dead?"

I nodded. "It was Demise reincarnated. Nasty son of a bitch, but I killed him with the help of the Master Sword and the Triforce."

"Good." Farore muttered, burying her face into my shoulder again.

I hesitated for a second after I wrapped my arms around her, unsure of what to say. Finally, I decided to just speak my mind. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you I was leaving. I knew that you would want to go with me, but-"

Farore was the one shushing me this time. "It's over now, Link. I'm just glad you're back"

_She's ever forgiving. _I thought to myself with a sigh. It seemed that Farore couldn't hold anger within herself like normal people. I pulled her closer to myself and held her tightly, glad that I had made it home.

**BREAK**

"Link just came back." Zelda said excitedly as she barged in the guardroom Jack was sitting in. The guards next to him nearly had a fit at the sight of their queen coming in, but Jack was used to it.

"Is he all right?" The lieutenant asked, concerned.

"He looked fine, but I didn't stick around to ask. Far-er…Ellen was wrapped around him within a few seconds, and I didn't feel like I needed to be intruding on that." Zelda replied, and then turned to the nearly panicked guards that were in the room. "I don't bite, guys. Chill out."

The soldiers looked at each other nervously, and Jack chuckled. He was still seated at the main desk, which could have been interpreted as a symbol of immense disrespect, had Zelda been a regular monarch. Her father had asked for such symbols of respect as standing when he entered a room, and these soldiers had not yet learned that Zelda didn't care. Only Jack was relaxed.

"Well, I guess we should give them a few hours before we disturb them." Jack said. "You didn't happen to hear anything about that demon, did you?"

"No, unfortunately I didn't." The queen replied. "I figured things were about to heat up really quick. I don't want to see that."

Jack laughed out loud at that. "No, I wouldn't stick around either." He paused after that, and his smile faded. "I actually had something I wanted to ask you. Could we go somewhere private?"

Zelda looked at him nervously. "Sure."

"Chuck, hold down the guardroom." Jack said to a nearby sergeant, who nodded. The couple left the room, and Jack started moving closer to the back of the castle.

"Is something wrong?" Zelda asked quietly as he led her through the halls.

"No, nothing at all." He said with a faint smile. Zelda relaxed a little, but her curiosity was burning as Jack led her to the central tower and they began climbing the steps. He passed door after door, obviously headed to the top. Jack made the climb every day, though. Zelda knew that the top of the central tower was Jack's favorite place in Hyrule Castle, and he always made sure that he was up there when he got guard duty.

As the pair emerged on the top of the tower, Zelda looked around. There were no guards there today, and the weather felt amazing. Jack took her hand and led her to the far end of the tower, the spot where almost all of Hyrule was visible. The tower was so tall, Zelda could even see the tops of the Kokiri tree houses in the forest.

The midday sun shone brightly on Zelda as Jack turned to her. He paused for a second, as if unsure of what to say.

"What is it?" Zelda asked curiously.

"I…well…I just haven't had a chance to really talk to you alone for the past week. Ever since I came back, it's just been a bustle of activity. I wanted to apologize for leaving you without being able to tell you. If there had been another way, I would have done it."

Zelda paused for a second, touched by his apology. "Jack, I never held that against you. How could I? You were looking out for Hyrule and trying to keep me out of danger. Goddesses know that I would have demanded you take me with you had I known you were leaving."

"I know." Jack mumbled. "That doesn't stop me from feeling terrible about it."

Zelda took his hand and pressed herself up to his side. "Well then consider it a royal mandate for you to stop feeling guilty."

Jack chuckled. "Well, I guess I have no choice, then." He paused again, looking slightly nervous, and segued the conversation. "You know, this was always my favorite place to spend time with you."

Zelda smiled and leaned her head onto Jack's shoulder. "Hopefully we'll be spending a lot more time up here with each other now that you're back."

"We will." Jack said quietly, and turned to look at Zelda. "I hope we will at least."

Zelda was suddenly struck with a thought. "Hey, didn't you say you had something to ask me?"

"Yeah, I did." Jack said. His face turned bright red, and Zelda laughed.

"You look nervous. What's going on?" She asked, hoping to get him to relax.

"I…uh, well I've been thinking, Zelda." He started, face darkening even further. "We've been officially courting for about a year now, and…" He trailed off, at a loss for words.

Zelda looked at him curiously, but otherwise didn't respond, hoping to give him some time to collect his thoughts. She had an idea of what was going on, but didn't want to give herself a false hope.

Jack mumbled for a second, but finally found his voice. "I was hoping that…oh hell, I had an entire speech prepared for this and now I've gone and forgotten all of it. Screw the speech."

Zelda nearly imploded as he dropped to one knee and pulled a small box out of his pocket, looking up at her pleadingly. He opened the box, which contained a modest diamond ring in it.

_Oh my goddesses, this is actually happening. _Zelda's mind was racing with excitement.

"Will you marry me?" Jack asked, looking as if he were about to pass out.

"_YES!" _Zelda shouted, throwing herself around his neck and squealing in delight. She felt dizzy from the unexpectedness of it all, and was debating whether or not this was a dream.

When she kissed Jack, she decided that it must not be a dream. This was too real. Too powerful. She was too happy for this to be a dream.

Jack pulled away and smiled, grabbing Zelda's left hand. She opened it, and he slid the ring onto her ring finger.

Zelda held up her hand, looking at the ring in amazement. "Wow, this actually just happened."

Jack grinned nervously. "I hope you like the ring. I thought you'd like something more modest than those giant hunks of diamond that the noblewomen have to lug around."

"I love it, Jack." Zelda said, smiling. She kissed him again, and then pulled away. "But not as much as I love you."

Jack's smile threatened to tear his face in half as he mumbled again. "Love you, too, Zel."

"Well, I guess we should go tell people." Zelda said, standing up from where she had pinned Jack down in her excitement.

"Who's first?" Jack asked as he stood.

"Well, we can try Link and Farore, assuming they're done having wild make-up sex." Zelda said, chuckling as she took Jack's hand and headed for the stairs.

**BREAK**

Wedding planning began in earnest, and Farore went absolutely wild. The whole thought of the wedding made her almost as excited as Zelda herself, who was having random outbursts of pure joy.

I was glad to see Jack and Zelda happy. It was something they both deserved, and I knew that Jack would handle the crown wonderfully. The general populace was well pleased with Zelda's decision, as Jack had become a sort of hero once the story of him and Zelda in the Sacred Realm had gotten out.

I had pressing matters, though. Zelda had appointed me to preside over former King Duncan's trial. It was a job that I had been practically forced to take, despite the fact that I had a previous bias against the man. Zelda claimed that my decision would be well-respected throughout both Hyrule and Fajfar, and that I would be fair in whatever judgment I decided upon.

Currently, I was sitting behind the judge's desk in Hyrule's grand courtroom. Spread out before me was a grand jury of twelve men and women selected randomly from the population. Their lspeaker was on a podium, preparing to deliver the jury's case to me.

Duncan himself was sitting at the defendant's desk, holding himself well despite the situation. His son sat next to him, fortunately keeping his mouth shut. One of Hyrule's lawyers sat at the prosecution's desk. I was most impressed with him, of all people. He had remained calm and fair throughout the trial, not making any false or outlandish claims, as lawyers usually did.

"The jury is hung again, sir." The speaker said.

I sighed. This was the fourth time. "What was the vote?"

"In regards to capital punishment, nine say yea. Three say nay." The speaker said.

"That's four times in a row that this jury has been hung. We need a unanimous vote, or this trial is going nowhere." I said, moderately frustrated. "And quite honestly, this is getting ridiculous. We're all tired of being here. Today marks thirty-four days since this trial started, and the jury has yet to make a decision."

"We unanimously voted for an alternative measure, should you be interested in hearing it, Mr. Link." The speaker said.

"And what is that?"

"The jury believes that you should decide on King Duncan's fate, sir." The man said.

I paused, unsure. "That's not a good idea. No one person should ever be allowed to decide the fate of another. Such a thing hasn't happened in years in Hyrule's courts."

"If you'll forgive my interruption, Link, Hyrule's law states that after either the fifth hung jury or the thirtieth day of a trial, the jury may vote on whether or not to ask the presiding judge to decide on the fate of the case." The Hylian lawyer said.

"I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with this." I said.

"The jury isn't going to get anything done. We're too divided." The speaker said.

"Duncan, what do you think of this?" I asked.

The former king let out a sigh. "Even if the jury were to decide on something, it would most likely be my death. Not that it isn't deserved, but I hardly imagine you're going to be unfair in your decision. Worst case scenario, you deal me the same fate that the jury would. Just make the decision and get this over with."

I looked down at the stack of paperwork on my desk. It was growing taller and taller with each day that the trial dragged on.

_I don't want to kill this man. He messed up bad, but he doesn't deserve death. _I thought.

"Does anyone in this courtroom oppose me making this decision?" I asked loudly. "If even a single person does, I will not do it."

Not a single hand raised, much to my dismay. I sighed and shook my head. "Duncan, your actions caused the deaths of over six thousand Hylians. You sided with three demons, one of which was their king, Demise. Though they all lie dead, they wreaked havoc on Hyrule and its lands. You also schemed to capture the late King Nordica. In addition, your forces captured and imprisoned some eight thousand Hylians. Over a hundred were starved or worked to death before they were forcibly released. Your crimes also extend to the severe, brutal, and unorthodox methods of punishment your soldiers received. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I have nothing to say that can make this situation better." Duncan replied calmly. "No apology or pleading, money or offers of land could replace the loved ones my actions killed. I have no excuses, and I will not plead with you to spare my life. I deserve to die, and would never try to convince you otherwise."

I nodded, making a final decision. "Duncan of Fajfar, you are hereby banished from the lands of Hyrule and Fajfar, and all of the countries bordering them. If Hylian or Fajfi soldiers find you within their boundaries, you will be executed on the spot. You will be allowed forty-eight hours to prepare supplies, and then you will leave Hyrule. I don't care which direction you go, just get out of your banishment zones as quickly as possible."

The court was shocked, including Duncan. They had all expected me to have him hung publicly. A few people started to speak up, but I raised my hands up, shushing them all.

"The entire court asked me to make a decision, and I did. This trial is complete. Jurors, prosecution, and defense, you are all excused." I said loudly, and smashed the wooden gavel down.

There was some grumbling from a few people as they all got up to leave, but Duncan immediately waved me over to him. He didn't look happy. I walked over to where he stood, surrounded by guards, wanting to know what he had to say.

As I approached him, he spoke in a slightly hushed tone. "Link, I never had anything to do with that blasted demon king. I made a pact with the Vallasva Bane, not Demise."

I stared at him for a few seconds. "You're sure it wasn't Demise?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Demise is the demon king, not just a Vallasva. I tried to contact him at the darkest point in the war, but he wanted nothing to do with humans. All he wants is our total destruction. He didn't care to make a pact with me." Duncan said hurriedly.

My eyes went wide. "So there's a Vallasva still roaming around somewhere?"

"One can only assume." Duncan replied. "He's probably been scared into submission, though. I doubt he will bother you if you defeated his former king."

"I hope so." I said, wishing now that I hadn't put the Master Sword back into its pedestal.

"Why did you spare me? By almost every account, including my own, I deserve death." Duncan asked quietly. "And I guarantee that the three who consistently voted against my death only did so in the hopes that I would rot in prison for the rest of my life."

I stared into the man's eyes for a few moments before speaking. "Duncan, I've learned a lot about the value of life. How can I run across the land claiming to be saving lives and then take yours? We all make mistakes. Your mistakes caused the deaths of thousands, but I'm hoping that whatever you do with your new life will improve thousands of lives in return. You're a changed man, that I can tell. You're a good man at heart, and I can't condemn a good man to death."

"Fair enough." Duncan grumbled. "You have my promise that I will do everything in my power to improve or save as many lives as I took from Hyrule and Fajfar with my quest for power."

"Good luck." I said simply. "I wish you the best."

"You too, Link. Thank you." The former king said, and allowed the guards to escort him out of the courthouse.

**BREAK**

"Anything on Duncan's court case, yet?" Farore asked as I walked in her door.

"Yes, in fact. It was decided today." I said, smiling wearily. "The court asked me to make the decision, so I banished him for life."

Farore looked at me curiously. "I'm impressed. You spared him, despite what he did to Hyrule?"

I nodded and took her in my arms, glad to be done with the case and all of its antics. "How's the wedding coming along?"

Farore smiled at the very thought of it. "Well, we're pretty much done planning. Apparently I'm a wedding mastermind since I got it all organized in a month, but I had a lot of help. When it's a royal wedding, there's about a thousand people working on it at any given point."

"And I bet Zelda's just going absolutely nuts, isn't she?" I asked, genuinely amused.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Farore replied with a chuckle. "Although, I would be, too if I were getting married."

I smiled at the bold hint. Farore had been dropping more than a few of those since I had come back.

_Your time will come, Farore. Just give it a little while longer. I need to ask you the right way._

"Well, when is this wedding?" I asked casually, brushing over the hint like I hadn't noticed it.

"Next week, actually." Farore replied.

I was shocked. "That would make it only five weeks from when Jack asked her. How is that even possible?"

"I told you." Farore smiled widely. "I'm a wedding mastermind. There's still one thing I have to do, though."

"And what's that?" I asked curiously.

"Get you some decent clothing. You're not wearing that white tunic to a wedding."

_Oh goddesses, clothing…_

**END**


	18. Chapter 18

**I want to thank all of you for your support, and remind you that there WILL be a prequel starting as soon as possible. It will be based on the events that happen after the conclusion of Skyward Sword. It will be called ****Into the Sky****, following the title trend. Please follow me if you want to be notified when that story starts coming out.**

**This will be the last chapter, although there will be an epilogue I'll be putting out very soon. **

**I'm sad to be done with this story, but not so much since this is going to be a series. I've had a great run and learned a lot. Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Every visitor, every review, and every person who enjoys my story makes the time I spent writing it worth it. **

**I hope y'all enjoy the ending.**

**START**

Chapter 18

"That was beautiful." Farore breathed as we walked away from the castle. I simply nodded and held her close to me as we walked through the streets underneath the full moon.

The night couldn't have been more perfect. Zelda's wedding had been amazing. It had been open to the general public, and had been attended by nearly every resident of Castle Town. Zelda had grown very popular among Hyrule's people, and they had come from far and wide to see the wedding, as well as Jack's coronation as king.

"Let's go take a ride." I said softly as we walked down the main street of Castle Town. Though it was late, Farore nodded in agreement. Neither of us would be able to sleep anyways.

Both of us split up and went to our respective homes to change into more travel-worthy clothing. The black suit I had been forced to wear wasn't the kind of attire I wanted to get dirty out in Hyrule Field. Afterwards, I met Farore at her house and we made our way out the drawbridge.

Epona came to me without hesitation when I played her song on the Ocarina of Time. Farore's horse, on the other hand, was in the stable. I saddled her quickly, and we set out into Hyrule Field.

I made it seem like we weren't headed in any particular direction, but I knew exactly where we were going. Farore and I rode in silence for a little while, content to enjoy each other's company in peace.

We rode quietly for a few hours, but I kept my eyes peeled, watching the trees bordering the trail. There was a certain spot I was looking for. No other spot would do.

"Where are we going?" Farore finally asked curiously.

"It's a surprise." I replied, smiling. As she asked, I saw what I had been looking for. A slight indent in the trees and a large rock in the shape of a triangle poking out from the ground.

"Here we are." I said, reigning Epona in and dismounting. I quickly made my way over to Farore's horse and helped her off. "Do you remember this place?"

"Something rings a bell." Farore said, glancing around. "I can't quite place it, though."

"You'll see." I said, taking her hand and leading her towards the trees. As we entered the tree line, a small clearing came into view. It was hidden from the trail, and had an old lean-to stacked up next to a tree. In the center was a fire pit with a few pieces of charred wood.

"Still ring a bell?" I asked.

Farore looked around the clearing and focused on the small lean-to in the corner. "This…I remember this. This is where we stayed on the way to Kakariko that first time we traveled together."

I nodded. "I felt like getting away from the normal chaos of Castle Town for a little while. I'd like some true alone time with you."

Farore grinned at me. "Oh really now? And what will we be doing with this alone time?"

"That's a good question." I replied, grinning at her innuendo. "I brought some stuff so that we can stay here overnight if you want."

"I think I'd like that." Farore said quietly, hugging me tightly. "Thank you."

"Anything for you." I whispered in her ear as I returned her embrace. After I let her go, I returned to Epona and pulled the bag of stuff off. I began making a fire quickly, even though it wasn't overly cold. I was shivering, and that was enough for me.

"Are you all right, Link?" Farore asked as I piled up wood in the fire pit. "You seem a little bit off. You're being sweeter than normal."

I smiled at her again, this time slightly amused. "Well I did have a few drinks at the wedding, so that could explain it. But if you're asking what's wrong with me, that's sort of an open-ended question. There's about a thousand different ways to answer it."

Farore chuckled at that. "Well how about we don't look at all of your weird nuances and awkwardness and focus on what's going on right now?"

"I don't know." I said. "I don't feel different than normal."

Farore stared at me for a few long seconds and sighed. "Link, you're an awful liar."

_Oh crap._

"No I'm not." I said, feigning offense. "That was a fantastic lie. You're just really good at reading into me."

Farore stood up and walked over to me, wrapping her arms around me for a second time. "Link, what's on your mind? Really, I want to know." She looked up at me and smiled that mind-boggling smile, which nearly broke me.

"Well, let me finish putting this fire together." I replied after a second, hoping to buy myself some time to collect my thoughts. "I'll tell you afterwards."

Farore nodded and sat back down, but not without shooting me a pleading glance. I knew she hated when I did that to her, but I didn't have a choice right now.

_I've been planning this for months, I know what she's going to say, and I'm still so nervous I can hardly utter a sound. What's wrong with me? _I asked myself as I stacked the last pieces of wood. With a quick few words, they flared up with Din's Fire and began to burn.

_No more stalling. Just go for it._

I sat down next to Farore and took her hand in mine. She laid her head on my shoulder and wrapped her other arm around my back.

"You know what you told me when we were here, right?" I asked, shaking the nerves away.

"It's been awhile, but I remember it like it was yesterday. You asked me if the reason I came to Hyrule was you, and I told you the truth." Farore said with a small laugh. "I've never been so nervous. I thought you were going to stand up and walk away right there. I must have seemed like the biggest creep. I had just met you a week before, but you caught on pretty quick."

"Well you weren't exactly hiding it." I said, and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "I'm not as oblivious as you think I am."

"I beg to differ." Farore said, laughing again.

"Well regardless, I knew." I replied quietly, but paused.

"What are you so nervous about, Link?" Farore asked seriously, turning my head to face her.

_Just do it, Link. Quit being a pussy._

"Well, it's been a while since then. A long while." I started off nervously, still nearly unable to find my voice. "And I've been thinking about this for a while, too. I think this has been on my mind since before I left to go take care of Demise, and I've spent a long time pondering it."

_All right, Link. You're doing good so far. As long as your voice isn't cracking like a thirteen-year-old boy's, you're doing good._

"And…well I love you, Farore." I continued. "A lot. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I can't imagine spending it with anyone else."

Farore couldn't contain her smile at that. I knew that this had to be strange coming from me, since I usually felt awkward talking about my feelings.

Which made me a normal man.

_Go for it, Link. She already knows, just do it._

"Are you randomly spilling your heart out to me or is this leading to something?" Farore asked, still smiling sweetly at me. If I hadn't taken the hint in the past few months, I couldn't have possibly missed it then.

"Here, stand up." I said, tugging her hand as I pulled myself up. She did as I asked, and I walked her over closer to the fire. I turned around and held both of her hands in mine. For a few seconds, I just looked into her beautiful eyes, allowing myself to get lost in them. Her radiant smile captivated me next, but I finally pulled my eyes away.

_Here goes nothing._

I dropped to one knee and looked up at Farore as I reached into my pocket. From it, I pulled out the ring I had had made for her. It was solid silver, with a bright green emerald set into the top. I had decided that even though the diamond was the common engagement and wedding ring stone, I would use something more dear to Farore's heart. This piece of emerald had come straight from the Sacred Stone of the Forest.

After half a second, I realized that I was actually supposed to speak at this point.

"Will you marry me, Farore?"

Farore's eyes welled up with tears almost immediately, and she pulled me up so that she could wrap me in her arms.

"Yes." She choked out before she burst into ecstatic sobs, holding me as close as she could.

I let out a relieved sigh, and pulled her even closer than I thought was possible. For a long time, the two of us stood there, wrapped around each other.

Finally, Farore separated and I put the ring on her finger, admiring it as I did so. It looked even more beautiful when she wore it.

"It's amazing, Link." She said, leaning up and giving me a long kiss. "I love you. Always."

"Always." I replied, smiling from ear to ear.

This was my life.

This was my story.

This was my future, and I was ready for it to begin.


	19. Epilogue

Epilogue

_Fool human._

_You have no idea what you have unleashed. You have no idea of the curse you have laid upon your ancestors. You have no clue what you have done._

_You may have killed my brethren, and you may have killed my king, but in doing so you only aided me. You gave me their residual power. You sealed the fate of your world with your foolishness._

_The former king of the blighted lands tried to tell you, Hero of Time. He tried to warn you, but you were too busy with your pathetic goddess to pay attention. _

_But it doesn't matter for you now. Even if you were to try to find me, I am beyond your reach. Even if you somehow managed to get to me me, I am far more powerful than you. I carry the combined strength of Ganondorf Dragmire, Abaddon the Destroyer, Xaphan the Fallen, and Demise the Demon King. You could not hope to stand against me._

_But it is not you that I seek. I seek one far more powerful than you. For him, I must wait. I will be watching you and all of your descendants, Hero of Time. I will be an unshakable curse upon your children, until I find the one I seek._

_In your tongue, I am Bane._

_Be wary, for I will be watching._


End file.
